


The Heart Of A Dragon

by NimueOfTheNorth



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Building A New Life, Dragons, Happy Ending, M/M, Raising Teddy, a touch of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 21:00:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20442443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NimueOfTheNorth/pseuds/NimueOfTheNorth
Summary: The expectations magical Britain likes to heap on Harry chased him away from his home, but he has found a new one and a new destiny. His life is content until a certain blond rides into town on a Harley - now things get so much better.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tkbenjamin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tkbenjamin/gifts).

> I was delighted to receive the beautiful and inspiring art by TK Benjamin in the EveryFandomReverseBang and writing this story became a true labour of love!
> 
> I plucked the places mentioned in this story from a map but have no first- or even second-hand knowledge of them, so think of them as fictional versions that happen to share the same location.

**1998**

Harry stepped out of the Ministry onto the streets of Muggle London and took a deep breath. Sitting in court hearings for days on end was certainly nobody's idea of a fun and relaxing summer, but what else was new. Defeating Voldemort should have finally given him some normalcy, but somehow it had turned out to be the kickstart to an entirely new type of madness Harry was still trying to catch up with months later.

The first thing Harry had insisted on after he had slept, eaten, slept some more and escaped Madame Pomfrey's care, was for him, Hermione and Ron to go to Gringotts and apologise for their actions and see about making amends for the damages they caused. Ron had been reluctant but had eventually given in and had allowed the other two to drag him along. The whole encounter had been astonishingly pain-free; something about the involvement of Griphook being a stain on the goblins' honour and the building's structure being self-repairing.

Instead of demands for huge reparations,Harry had found himself presented with ledgers and two large keyrings representing the Potter and Black estate respectively. Bureaucracy took its time, even in the magical world, and apparently, by the time his inheritance had been fully processed after he came of age, Harry had already been on the run.

As it turned out the vault he’d been taken to on his eleventh birthday was merely the trust for his education and upbringing. The Dursleys should have been receiving payments from it for his care, but as practically nobody in the magical world knew where he was and Dumbledore hadn’t bothered, that hadn’t happened. Harry hadn’t been sure what to feel, anger, disappointment and hurt whirling inside him. Maybe his childhood would have been less terrible if his aunt and uncle hadn’t been taken advantage off, cause that’s certainly what it must have felt like to them if they knew even in the slightest how wealthy his dad’s family obviously had been. But as they hadn’t been hurting for money and still hadn’t even fed or treated him with any shred of decency, he sure wouldn’t be throwing money at them now.

The whole thing brought home yet again how utterly ill-fitted Hagrid had been to introduce him to the magical world and how little anyone had cared to check what he did and didn’t know about.

The Black estate surprised him. Yes, Dumbledore had told him he was Sirius’s heir, but with nobody to contest or confirm it, Harry had never been sure how legally binding that really was. Turned out, the Blacks were so focused on the male line that the godson of the patriarch had more claim than the son of a female cousin.

Speaking of Draco Malfoy, the pretty git was the last person Harry expected to find outside the Muggle world entrance to the Ministry of Magic. Draco and Narcissa had both been cleared of all criminal charges earlier that day, partially due to Harry’s testimony about their actions towards the end of the war, and because they had both spent the months since they’d been released from custody until their trial by volunteering, Narcissa at St. Mungos and Draco joining the repair work at Hogwarts.

“Malfoy,” he greeted with a polite nod. “I’m surprised to see you here.” He gestured vaguely at their surroundings.

Malfoy shrugged. “No matter what the court said, the magical community isn’t too happy to see a Malfoy at the moment, so I try to avoid public appearances. No need to rub it in.”

“Then what brought you here in the first place?” Harry wasn’t mentioning that he himself used this particular exit because the magical community was _all _too happy to see him.

“I wanted to thank you, personally, for what you said in court. You can expect a written note to the same effect from my mother within the next days. I’m pretty sure you hate the fact, but you have a lot of social and political power right now, and mother and I am grateful you used it in our favour when our family gave you little reason to.”

Harry wanted to brush it off, but Malfoy was so damn earnest. "I appreciate you coming here in person, and you're welcome. I didn't say anything that wasn't true. You may have been a spiteful git and bully most of our years at school, but I don't believe you ever wanted to fulfil Voldemort's orders. In hindsight, your attempts in sixth year speak more of desperation than of eagerness. We were both boys caught in a men's war. Let's just try and hope the rest of our lives turns out less complicated."

Draco snorted at the notion but nodded. "One can always hope. Having the current trials run by the Crown Prosecution Service is certainly an interesting start. I admit I was sceptical at first. Not that I expected much mercy from the Wizengamot, but at least I thought I knew what and who I was dealing with. And all of a sudden somebody sends an anonymous letter to the Muggles, and the Queen is all up in our business, investigating the Ministry and the Wizengamot and their involvement in the war. I have to say I'm impressed by the work the Muggles are putting in and the fairness they're displaying." The admission sounded less painful than Harry would have expected from a proud pureblood.

"Yeah, I'm quite relieved they stepped in. I was never comfortable with how the judicial system in magical Britain worked. It failed me more than once. And there was all this talk of giving me a seat on the Wizengamot by public declaration like I'm some ancient Roman barracks emperor, all so I could sit in judgement of the Death Eaters. As if I'd want to join those stuck up idiots and as if that would have been any kind of justice. The CPS declared me a victim and afflicted party in most cases and a witness in all the others after a single interview. I have no business sitting in judgement." He took a deep breath as the idea still made him incredibly mad.

What Harry didn't say was that he knew very well who the anonymous letter had come from. Hermione had been enraged how the Ministry and the Wizengamot had started to whitewash their own role in the war before the battleground at Hogwarts was even cleared of all the dead. And unlike Harry, she had known whom to go to.

"I didn't even know that magical Britain was still under the authority of the crown. Thinking about it and the governing system at the time the Statute of Secrecy came about, it makes sense. I guess I just assumed Magicals had outgrown the monarchy as much as the Muggles."

"I sort of knew from certain mentions in our family history but never drew the connections what that meant for our daily politics either," Draco admitted. "Goes to show how useless the History of Magic classes Binns does are."

"A lot of our education is woefully inadequate, especially for Muggle-raised students. But I think in this particular case, the Ministry might have made a concentrated effort over decades if not centuries to make the public forget who was really in charge. It gave them and the Wizengamot an awful lot of power and liberty to do as they pleased."

"You could be right there." Draco gave him an assessing look. "I'm not quite used to this kind of insight from you, Potter. You always seemed to take things at face value."

“Even a Gryffindor can learn,” Harry quipped back.

“So it seems. Do you think the old system will survive this mess?”

“I don’t know. The rumours in the papers make it sound unlikely, but I don’t know anything more than that either.”

"Maybe it is time," Draco said thoughtfully. "Maybe our society would be less prone to Dark Lords and their aspirations with a different system of government in place. Anyway, I should get home to Mother. Father is up for sentencing tomorrow, and it has her a little agitated, even though we both are rather certain of and, frankly, relieved about the likely outcome." He gave Harry a courteous nod and apparated away, leaving Harry somewhat surprised.

He’d always thought that despite his public disposition and troublesome company, Lucius Malfoy had been an indulgent father and husband at home. If his wife and son were relieved to see him locked up in Azkaban, that couldn’t have held true, at least not for the last years. Filing that bit of information away for his future interactions with Malfoy, Harry apparated home as well.

* * *

One day, about two weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, Andromeda Tonks had just shown up at the little cottage in Wales, Harry had found amongst the Black estate and claimed for his sanctuary. She'd put baby Teddy into Harry's arms, allowing no protest, and had introduced him to his godson. Yet another thing to get used to, along with being taken seriously and having everyone he came across thank him.

"I'm happy to care for him until your life has settled down some and you know what you want to do with your future," she'd told him. "But I'm not young anymore, and I'm getting tired. Teddy needs a dad to raise him and keep up with him. The job of a grandmother is to spoil the boy rotten every now and then."

Harry had heard the fatigue in her voice and seen it in the lines on her face. He didn't know by how much she was older than her sisters, but he felt certain that her losses and grief were ageing her before her time.

Looking down on the rosy baby in his arms, Harry felt overwhelmed. Teddy was in the same terrible situation as Harry had been, having lost both his parents to the fight against the monster that was Voldemort. Only Teddy was even younger. But he still had people in his life who loved him, people who cared for his well-being. And Harry swore in that very moment that he would do his very best to give Teddy the childhood he deserved, that the legacy of this war would not include yet another innocent child robbed of its happiness.

Harry would learn all he needed to know to fulfil that promise.

From then on, Harry had split the time his presence wasn’t required in court between repairing Hogwarts and spending time with Teddy. There was only a little bit of summer left when all the clean up was done, both the legal and the physical one; a short while for Harry to breath and sort out his thoughts and plans.

It was already mid-August when Harry came into his kitchen one morning and found Hedwig staring down one of the Hogwarts owls that was perched precariously on the windowsill just on the inside of the window pane charmed to let owls through. Harry had been beyond relieved when his beautiful girl had returned to him as soon as he claimed this house as a residence. Sending her away into hiding before he ever left Privet Drive had been one of the hardest but also best decisions he could have made. But their separation had made her oddly territorial about him, and he was still trying to break her of that behaviour before their return to school.

He brushed down the feathers on her head in passing. “Settle down, girl, he’s just doing his job.” He fished a treat out of the jar and gave it to the tawny owl as he accepted his Hogwarts letter, the truly last he’d ever get.

When Hedwig didn’t complain loudly, just ruffled her feathers as the other owl left, Harry gave her a treat as well; it was progress after all.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We would like to invite you to return to Hogwarts to finish your schooling and partake in next years regularly scheduled Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. Students returning for an extra year will be housed in double rooms in one of the visitor wings, regardless of house affiliation. Should you have preferences as to your roommate, please mention them in your acceptance letter._

_We are also obliged to inform you, that should you feel sufficiently prepared for your NEWTs already, you may take them at the Ministry from the 12th to 16th October. Further information can be found in the included leaflet._

_The school year begins as per usual on the 1st of September._

_Filius Flitwick_

_Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Harry had already known the details of what would happen to the year their generation had basically lost. Minerva McGonagall had been made headmistress and spent long discussions with the board of governors and the examination committee in charge of OWLs and NEWTs to find a workable compromise, that had then been announced in the papers.

Last year's fifth-year students would be revising necessary material along with progressing into sixth year's curriculum already and sit their exams in December; that way, they didn't have to lose a whole year. The expectations for DADA would be adjusted once the new teacher taking over had a chance to determine what the average skill level was after the mess that the subject had been for years and the abomination it had been turned into the last one.

There would also be a mix of students being held back if they missed too much material last year due to the circumstances, or being tested before continuing on with their age group if they had studied independently.

Harry was happy to spend another year at school, one without a Dark Lord out to get him. It would give him a reprieve of having to deal with the realities of adult life and the expectations everyone and their brother was heaping upon him. And as much as he’d learned over the last year, mostly thanks to Hermione, he felt in no way prepared to sit his NEWTs. Hermione probably could have but would never willingly give up an opportunity for education.

Unlike any of their classmates Harry had talked to, Ron had considered choosing the third option, the one not mentioned in Flitwick’s letter, leaving Hogwarts without NEWTs. The twins had given him an example of how you could do so and still turn out quite successful after all. But that idea had survived exactly as long as it took Molly Weasley to hear of it. The twins had already been too financially independent at the time for her to pressure them back to school, but she’d be damned if another one of her children didn’t take their NEWTs.

Ron’s hopes that the Golden Trio would be accepted into Auror training based on their experiences despite their missing formal qualifications was nipped in the bud, when Harry declared very publicly that he considered that a supremely bad idea, and that he had no intention to ever again rely on dumb luck to protect his own life or that of others. The ministry had backed down with its plans after that, but Harry had no illusions that they would try again after he finished his schooling. He didn’t fancy the idea of becoming an Auror, let alone working for the ministry anymore, but why bring that battle upon himself now, when it would keep for later. All said and done, Ron had given into everybody’s more or less gentle pressure and agreed to return to Hogwarts and give his NEWTs a shot.

And here it was, still in emerald green ink on heavy parchment, just like his very first letter, only the difference in penmanship signifying all the changes time had brought upon them, his entrance back into what was hopefully the normal rest of his life.

Harry put the letter on the counter out of the way and put the kettle on to contemplate his breakfast options. He decided it was an occasion worthy of some celebration and put together rich French toast with fresh fruits and syrup. He took his food and pot of tea under a warming charm outside onto the patio to indulge in the kind of breakfast he thought holidays should be filled with - lazy, sunny and still in his PJs.

Hedwig joined him for a while to accept bits of his food in between nibbling his ear and grooming his hair before she retired to her perch to sleep the morning away after a night of successful hunting.

Over his last cup of tea, Harry contemplated whether he'd stick to his plans to work on the garden that had grown wild a bit beyond what could be called charming, or if he'd be better off doing his school shopping today before everyone descended on Diagon Alley in the next few days. Two weeks was not long for all the families to get sorted. Or he could avoid the crazy altogether, use the pretence of needing some privacy, and treat Hermione to a thank-you-for-keeping-my-stupid-butt-alive shopping trip in Paris and just order his books via owl. That option actually held the most appeal.

* * *

**1999**

Draco strolled through the empty hallways of Hogwarts until he ended up on one of the battlements high up above the sprawling castle. Down below, he could see the golden light of the Great Hall from where the wind carried up the sounds of chatter and laughter every so often. Everyone was still enjoying the end of year feast, the first truly happy and carefree one any of them had experienced in all their Hogwarts years.

He’d felt out of place among the joyful crowd, so he’d left as soon as he’d eaten enough to satisfy his hunger. Nobody had paid him any mind and wasn’t that a perfect description of this weird eighth year of his schooling. Draco had returned, determined to earn his NEWTs and with them the right to have a proper career, become a respected member of society in the years to come.

He’d earned his NEWTs, that much had worked out. He had done quite well, not as well as Granger, but he hadn’t expected to and he could easily acknowledge that between her intellect and work ethics, the girl had more than earned to come up on top of their class. Beyond the academics, he wasn’t sure what to make of this year.

He had basically no friends left. Those of his fellow Slytherins who had dared to return to Hogwarts had carefully stayed away from him, worried they might get tarnished by the general disdain the Malfoys were regarded with at the moment. And unsurprisingly, nobody else had had much interest in becoming friends with him.

Things could have been much more nasty if it hadn't been for Potter and his gang treating him decidedly civil. Their year group had been assigned double rooms in one of the guest wings, and Draco wasn't sure what conversations had happened beforehand, but he had ended up sharing a room with Longbottom. It had been an astonishingly pleasant cohabitation, and Draco thought the two might have a chance at an actual friendship in the future.

He, for his part, was determined to try and not lose contact with Neville as their lives took different paths into adulthood. He could only hope these attempts were welcome.

Potter and Granger had made it a point to exchange polite greetings with Draco and pair up with him for classwork every so often. At first, it had been a bit awkward and stilted, but they'd found they worked astonishingly well together. Draco didn't think he could call them friends, but friendly acquaintances was already much more than he would have ever thought possible. Not even Weasley's continued and vocal antipathy had put a stop to this development when Draco had absolutely expected it to. It was almost funny to watch how Weasley alienated his two best friends more and more with his refusal to grow up and move forward. It was a miracle that Granger hadn't dumped the boy yet and if Draco had someone to bet with, he'd put a nice sum on them not making it another three months.

But he had no one to bet with.

Three former rivals and victims of his more stupid younger years were the closest to friendly company he’d had all year.

There had been no offers to date, let alone offers of betrothal contracts that were so typical in their social circles at this point in life.

Draco wasn’t keen on marriage. He wasn’t even all that keen on the companionship of a witch, so he was relieved about this development on a personal level. It was the general principle of the fact that no Malfoy heir had ever garnered that little social interest. It was also a dreadful indicator of his overall prospects going on from here.

He turned his eyes away from the feast below and up to the night sky. The metaphorical parallel there should be that his life and future lay ahead of him as wide, open and full of opportunities as the star littered sky. Instead, it was the cold emptiness of space.

A mirthless snort escaped him. Or maybe it was a badly concealed sob, but which 19-year-old worth their salt would admit to that.

Before that train of thought could take him down any further, he heard the door to the stairs behind him groan on its hinges, making him turn around.

“Potter,” he said surprised. “I would have thought you were still enjoying dessert.”

Potter shrugged awkwardly, looking nothing like the hero everybody saw in him. The hero he was, but so clearly didn't want to be. "It was getting a bit much. Sorry to interrupt your solitude. I can go somewhere else." He turned to leave, and for a moment, Draco was all for letting him go. He didn't actually want to be alone, though.

“You can stay. I don’t mind.” He hoped the words didn’t sound as desperate as they felt.

"If you're sure?" Potter asked, already stepping out of the shadows. "I'm pretty knackered and just wanted to catch a bit of fresh air and enjoy the view before going to bed. Don't really fancy trotting all over the castle to find a different spot."

“You’re pretty far away from our quarters for someone looking forward to his bed.”

“Ah, well…” Potter scratched the back of his head in that way that made his hair stand up even more messily than normal. “There’s a little known shortcut just one flight of steps down from here that ends around the corner from the wing they put us in. Don’t tell anyone.” The last was said in a bad imitation of a conspiratorial whisper.

"Not like I have many people to tell things to these days. And we're leaving tomorrow for good anyway, so I can't even really use this knowledge to my own advantage anymore." Draco tried to make light of it, but he felt rather melancholic about it all. "How do you know so many more passages through the castle? I swear the only ones who compare were the Weasley twins and Dumbledore."

"That's a family secret, sorry. But you're not wrong that I had an advantage of sorts if that is any consolation to you."

“Maybe it is. It became rather intimidating to stand beside you and try to measure up over the years. It’s reassuring that it’s not all due to the ineptness of us mere mortals.” Draco could see that the subject made Potter uncomfortable, but he thought he should probably hear it from someone who wasn’t just fawning over him, but meant it in all honesty - if hidden behind a dash of sarcasm.

“Yeah, well, I needed all the help I could get to even survive this far. I really wish people would stop treating me like some sort of messiah because I managed to survive despite all odds. It’s obscene.”

The force behind the statement surprised Draco. Yes, he’d noticed how uncomfortable Potter had been with all the praise and expectations heaped upon him. Once you stopped letting your own expectations and prejudices blind you, it was hard to miss. But he’d never been privy to Potter’s honest opinion before tonight.

“Sounds like I hit a sore spot, sorry about that.”

"No, I'm sorry. What you said wasn't even all that bad, the spot is just particularly sore because it was poked a lot tonight. That's why I'm up here in the first place." Potter let out a long-suffering sigh and dropped down on a bench someone had placed against the wall a long time ago but clearly not bothered enough about to cast the appropriate weather resistance charms on.

Draco hesitated a moment before he sat down beside him more gingerly. He’d never quite trusted the bloody thing, as many times as he’d come up here, but if it held up to Potter’s carelessness, surely it would carry him as well.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He felt awkward offering, but it seemed the thing to do.

“It’s just the same as ever. Everyone thinks I will join the Aurors, that it’s my destiny, my passion, and that I somehow owe magical Britain that kind of service. It’s annoying enough when strangers think and say so, but when your supposedly best friend continues to not catch a clue and shut up about it, that hurts.”

“Doesn’t Auror training require you to live in their facilities for most of the time?”

“Yeah.”

"Mother told me that Andromeda will hand Teddy over into your full-time care after we graduate. How would that even work?"

"It wouldn't. It's one of the less debatable reasons why Auror training isn't a good fit for me. I've made it a point to keep my personal circumstances and especially Teddy out of the press as much as possible, so I don't expect the public to see me as a single dad, but it's hardly a secret among my friends. Of course, Ginny is the loudest but hardly only one who thinks that I'm too young to take on that kind of responsibility and that I shouldn't allow it to keep me from living my life."

“Why can’t I shake the feeling that that life involves her and quite a bit of travelling the world.” Draco had watched from the sidelines how the youngest Weasley had played poorly at giving Potter space until he felt ready to resume their relationship. It was amusing how Potter hadn’t looked at all as if he was interested in such a thing.

"Yeah, that's about it. She'd actually prefer I play Quidditch professionally, at least for a few years, before settling into a proper career. I know she finds the publicity that would garner appealing when it is about the last thing I want. I'm also not all that keen on turning one of the few fun and relaxing things in my life into work."

“I think I can understand that. I mean, I grew up in a family that prided itself on their social standing and political power, and that people would flock towards us in the hopes of furthering themselves. My father made an art form out of using such people to his own advantage while giving them no more than breadcrumbs. For a long time, I admired him for it, thinking he was so very clever. It’s astonishing how much your perspective can shift in a short time.”

“It truly is. Have you ever wondered how things could have gone between us if we’d been raised differently?” Potter asked out of the blue.

“Yeah, more so over the last year or two.”And he had wondered. Draco had thought an awful lot about the circumstances that had led his life to the mess it was. Along the way it had occurred to him that there had been many smaller side effects as well, the friendships he made and didn’t make among them.

“So just out of curiosity, what do you plan to do with your life if neither Auror nor Quidditch star is appealing? Somehow I can’t see you living off your inheritance forever.”

"No, that's not me at all. Don't get me wrong, it's comfortable to have and takes the pressure away. I haven't quite gotten used to the thought of the sheer size of my estate, but I'll take that one step at a time. I'm not opposed to taking a little while off to settle into life, finding a routine that works for Teddy and all that. I do love spending time with the little guy and watching him grow and learn. Beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with my life. I think I could enjoy creating things, so I might see about trying out different crafts and materials."

"Back to the roots, so to speak?" Draco asked in a teasing tone but then clarified at Potter's puzzled look, "It's not that nebulous what inspired your family name."

That made Potter laugh. "I never even thought about that, but I guess you're right. I'll give pottery a try on principal then. What's in your future?"

"I have no clue," Draco said on a sigh. "I thought I might go into potions making, get my mastery, focussing on medicinal potions to contribute to the betterment of our society and all that. I feel like our family truly has a duty there. Mother agrees and has thrown herself fully into charity work. It's actually a joy to see her flourish in that task. I never even knew how stifled she was in my parents' marriage. And going into potions would also honour Severus legacy. I know he was no saint, but he was my godfather, and I cared for him a great deal. He also never let me in any doubt that he cared for me, no matter how restraint his manner was."

"I didn't know about him being your godfather. I'm sorry you lost him like that. I can't say I don't have some deeply conflicted feelings about him and how he treated me over the years, but he was also instrumental in the eventual defeat of Voldemort, and I'll never forget that part."

“The summer after the Triwizard Tournament, he told me that he had chosen a wrong path in his youth and had come to deeply regret it. He wanted me to never even be faced with that choice but held out little hope with the Dark Lord having returned to power. Over the years he had tried to prepare me for the fact that my father’s worldview was rather ugly and his allegiances wouldn’t necessarily serve the betterment of our society the way he claimed.

"I didn't fully understand just how different the two of them were in their regard for the Dark Lord until I witnessed their reactions to his return. And then he said something to me that I haven't forgotten. ‘You might not believe him capable, but for better or worse, Harry Potter is the only real chance our society has. So choose your allegiances wisely.' I ended up having my allegiances chosen for me, but it was his words echoing in my mind when I pretended not to recognise you. It felt so little, but I finally had a choice, and I wanted to make whatever good I could make of it. Not sure I ever said that, but I'm very glad you won and finished that monster off."

“Please, don’t thank me! I’m not sure I can take that.” Potter threw up his hands.

That made Draco laugh. “Okay then, no thanks for the saviour.”

Potter groaned and buried his face in his hands, making Draco chuckle again. At least his mood was a little less glum.

“Why won’t you get your mastery in Potions?” Potter asked him after a moment of silence. “You and Hermione tied for highest marks on that one.”

Draco let out a slow breath and looked out over the dark mountains. “Because grades don’t matter if your name is Malfoy and all the talk about healing the rifts the blood war has torn is nothing more than lip service. I applied to every Potions master and mistress in the British Isles, France and Switzerland, everywhere within Europe where I feel comfortable enough with the language. They all told me no, some of them very rudely so.”

“That sucks. And it feels like punishing you for the sins of your father, which isn’t fair. I think it’s great that your dream includes doing something good for society. Everyone seems so damn set to keep us all in our neat little boxes, even when it’s not a good box.”

Draco just shrugged. “Maybe I should take it as a sign. Yes, I would have liked to continue Severus’ work in his honour, and I know I would have been good at it. But I wouldn’t call brewing my passion, not like it was for him. There is an odd freedom in being the pariah, and maybe I should just say screw it and find out what _I_ want when nobody is pushing expectations onto me.”

"That's certainly what I'm doing. One of the first decisions I made after the war ended, was to always be true to myself. Not to ignore the needs of others to any point of cruelty, but to consider my own first. Because nobody ever has. Magical Britain is selfish and fickle, no matter what you do, so you might as well do right by yourself."

“Sounds like a healthy attitude and a lot less Gryffindor than I would have expected from you.”

“I believe I told you a year ago that even a Gryffindor can learn.”

“Right, so you did.”

They fell silent, each staring into the night sky lost in their own thoughts.

“You know what sounds really tempting?” Draco asked eventually.

“What?”

"Just leaving. Going far away, where nobody knows me, and nobody cares. Someplace where I can start over."

“That thought has appeal. With our names that might require moving into the Muggle world, though. Even the American papers reported on the end of the war rather extensively.”

"You have an advantage there. I've learned to manoeuvre the Muggle world somewhat safely since last summer, but I'm not sure I could pull off living in it without drawing unwanted attention."

"Hmmm. Maybe ask Hermione. She has much broader knowledge and understanding of the Muggle world. And she's great at pulling solutions out of thin air."

Draco pondered the thought for a moment longer. “Do you think she would actually help me with something like that?”

“If you can convince her that you’re serious about it and not just pulling her leg… sure. Mione is all about good causes and everyone getting a fair chance. I’d help too for what it’s worth.”

“Thanks. I’m not sure I deserve your help after how big a git I was, and I sure didn’t expect it, but I’m truly thankful for it.”

“You’re welcome,” Potter answered with an awkward shrug that ended in a big yawn. “Okay, I think that’s it for me. I’m heading to bed. But it was nice chatting with you, Malfoy. And who would have thought I’d say that and mean it? See you around.”

As Potter got up, he slapped Draco good-naturedly on the shoulder. He was so baffled by that gesture, that he barely managed to call a ‘Good Night' after Potter before the door closed behind him.

Draco looked up at the stars again and somehow, they didn’t give him the same feeling of being lost as earlier.

A little over a year ago, he thought he would die. Last summer, he was convinced he would go to Azkaban. The whole of last year, he believed his life offered no prospects. But if he and Harry Potter could have a pleasant, personal conversation under the night sky, surely anything could happen. And maybe it would be good things for a change.


	2. Chapter 2

**1999**

He really should have known better.

That was the resigned thought in Harry’s mind as he apparated safely inside of the wards around Andromeda’s house.And maybe he had known better, he had left Teddy with his grandmother after all, even though he had originally planned to take him along to Diagon Alley.

The beauty of Teddy's current age was that Harry didn't have to worry about Christmas shopping with him. He wasn't yet begging for anything on display and was usually quite content to watch the buzz around him from his stroller as long as Harry didn't take too long. His babbling also wasn't up to spilling any secrets to others yet, either. But Teddy loved all things sparkly and glowing, so Harry had liked the thought of taking him along to experience the beautifully decorated alley for the first time.

But then the Prophet hadn't had a noteworthy story to print two days before and had reverted to their all-time favourite - Harry. More precisely, Harry's life and how he was wasting it, wasn't fulfilling his potential, wasn't meeting hopes and expectations, wasn't doing what was best for the public, wasn't doing what the Ministry wanted him to do. And the one he hated most, how he wasn't living up to his parents' memory. Just thinking about that one made him mad enough to scream.

None of this was new, none of it was anything Harry hadn’t expected, but the persistence of the wizarding public astonished him. No matter how often he ignored their demands or told them to mind their own business, they never got it.

And it was slowly ruining his life.

He let out a deep sigh and headed into the house with a cursory knock, knowing that the wards had already announced his presence to Andromeda. He found her in the kitchen, putting the kettle on.

“I didn’t expect you back so early. I just put Teddy down for a nap.”

“That’s fine, I’m in no hurry. I can pick him up later.” He was just about to leave again, not sure he was ready for the insightful motherly discussion that was likely coming his way.

"Sit. Don't be silly, Harry. You are always welcome here, and the thunderclouds over your head won't dissipate by brooding. So sit and talk, young man!"

He did as told, knowing better than to argue, and she fixed two mugs of tea, putting one down in front of him, just where he was doing his best to stare a hole through the tabletop. He wrapped his cold fingers around the comfortable heat of the mug but didn’t say anything.

“Shall I take a guess then? Something along the line of the wonderful people of magical Britain and their inability to keep their noses out of other people’s affairs or to take responsibility for pretty much anything.”

Harry sighed and finally took a sip of his tea. "Pretty much, yeah. I managed one shop before they descended upon me. It was almost as if everybody was just biting their tongue until the first person dared to throw the first question. I tried my best to ignore them, but questions turned into demands, and when I didn't react, people outright tried to grab me. I basically fled into the Magical Menagerie, because the owner likes me and is outright vicious when people behave in any way that might disturb his animals. That way, I got enough room to safely apparate away. For all that they are annoying, I don't want to splinch any of those idiots. Can you imagine the headlines that would cause? I just want to live my life. After I figure out how I actually want to live it. I'm only 19; is that really too much to ask?" He slumped over with all the frustration he was feeling.

“No, Harry, of course not. You’ve already taken on much more responsibility and hardship than any of those condescending, judgemental idiots. I wish I could spare you their criticism and attempts to interfere.”

"It would be easier to ignore if it were only people I don't know. It would still be annoying as fuck, but I could probably deal with it. But every single time, the Prophet finds yet another ‘friend' or ‘mentor' of mine to support their demands. And every time it means I get to cross another name off the list of people I can trust and call a friend. I'm just grateful that you aren't among them."

“I’m not, and I never will be. My Nymphadora gave her life so that her son and everybody else could live the lives they wanted and deserved. I will never support such a choice being taken away from anyone, least of all you. I know, I forced your hand with Teddy, but-”

"Don't you dare apologise for that, Andromeda!" Harry interrupted her. "I took on the honour and duty of godfather, knowing full well what it entailed. I never imagined things going down like this; I probably didn't want to. But there is no way I wouldn't be 100% involved in Teddy's life. Also, you didn't do it for selfish reasons, you just wanted the best for Teddy, which I happen to want as well." Harry meant every word of that. Of all the things life had thrown at him over the years, custody for Teddy was by far the best. It had been intimidating to the point of terrifying at first, but he'd come to love every minute of it.

“It might get a little better when you settle on a job to pursue and start an apprenticeship,” Andromeda suggested after a few moments of silence. “Are you closer to making a decision?”

“Yes, I think I’ve figured it out.”

Creating things was still the career path Harry felt most intrigued by. He wanted to add to the world but do it away from prying eyes. Focusing on a project and taking time to get things just right sounded so much better than the constant pull in all directions he would be exposed to as an Auror.

As he’d never really worked with any material, he had opted to take classes directed at hobbyists in the Muggle world to figure out what appealed to him the most. He’d supplemented that by reading books about magical techniques and trying those out at home.

"I'm really liking working with stone. For a while, I thought I'd found my material in wood, but I'm glad I kept on trying out the rest on my list. I can't even explain it, but I feel almost a connection to the stone and shaping it comes easier than anything before. It's hard work and exhausting, but it makes me feel good. Maybe, after everything, I'm best suited for a material that resists a little, something that makes me work for it." He shrugged. He'd already tried to explain the same to Hermione, and while she'd understood him, it all sounded like mumbo-jumbo to himself. That didn't make it any less true.

“That does sound like you’ve found your material and craft. Congratulations, Harry! I’m happy that your search worked out as you hoped. Have you started looking for an apprenticeship already?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to wait until the new year. The pre-Christmas stress didn’t seem the best time for it. I’d also like to make a few more examples of my work before applying.”

“Are you worried that a master would accept you just for being you?”

"When is that ever not a concern? But they could just as easily reject me based on who I am and all the assumptions people make about me based on almost two decades of public fairy tales." He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice, and he knew that with Andromeda, he didn't have to try.

"I wish I could offer you more reassurance, but we'd both know I'd be lying. But I've witnessed your determination, and I'm sure you'll find your place somehow." She reached over the table to squeeze his hand, and the gesture helped to reassure him. Harry privately called it mum-magic, something he had little experience with and never before been able to fully accept from anyone. But Andromeda had never actually tried to mother him, she stuck to her role as Teddy's grandmother, and Harry just happened to be caught in between. Somehow, that made it a lot easier.

* * *

**2000**

March was drawing to an end, and Harry had officially run out of magical stonemasons to ask for an apprenticeship.

It wasn’t like there were hundreds of masters to petition to begin with, but he’d still held out hope that he might find a place to learn the craft of his choice. But between masters that wanted his name as a boon to their workshop, not even caring if he had any talent for the craft, those that felt overwhelmed by the public attention or feared backlash for keeping Harry from fulfilling his supposed destiny - and boy, did he want to scream about that one - and the masters Harry would neither consider nor be considered by due to the fundamental disagreement in their political leanings, he was out of options.

So Harry did what he mostly did when the situation looked hopeless, he plopped himself down on the couch in Hermione’s tiny student flat and told her all his woes.

"You are not giving up on your dream, Harry James! I won't allow it. You've finally picked something to do for yourself for the sole reason that you want to do it, and I'm not prepared to watch you sacrifice this dream." She poked her finger into his biceps repeatedly, and Harry figured she'd be stomping her foot if she wasn't sitting down.

“Ouch! No need to get violent, Mione. I’m not arguing with you. But what am I supposed to do? Self-study isn’t really a career path widely accepted in the magical world. And I’ve literally tried all the Masters in the British Isles.”

“That’s it! You just have to think broader.”

“I’m not sure I can follow you.”

"You are too focused on Britain. I'm not blaming you, because your whole childhood and youth were designed to keep your world small and contained, but because of that you've fallen into the mental trap most Magicals in Britain are comfortably stuck in, that Britain is the navel and pinnacle of everything. But there's a whole world out there, Harry. A world full of possibilities."

He sat there for a moment staring at her dumbfounded. "How did I not think of that? I know how big the bloody world is! How did I think more narrow-mindedly about my future than even Malfoy did?! Gosh, I feel so stupid."

"You're not stupid," Hermione insisted and poked him again for good measure. "You were never given the opportunity to experience the world as something large, and that influences our mind. For all that Malfoy grew up completely separated from the Muggle world, he has family in France and Italy, and his father had business contacts in many other countries. I know for a fact that he liked to take Narcissa and Draco along on his travels, so Draco has seen much more of the world from an early age. Don't beat yourself up for things that were done to you in the past. And you've always got me to point out when you're getting caught in one of those old nets," she added with a cheeky smile.

“Yes, I do. I truly despair about what I would do without you.”

“Good thing you’ll never have to find out then,” Hermione said and snuggled into his side.

Harry slung his arm around his best friend’s shoulders. “Okay, oh wise, curly one, what do I do next?”

“Do you have any preference as to where you’d like to live? Or have you looked into different styles that are used in specific areas and appeal to you?”

“No to both. And I should probably talk it through with Andromeda. I’d want to go somewhere she’d either want to move as well or could at least easily travel to. I wouldn’t mind somewhere with nicer weather in the summer.”

“I like that thought.”

“Would you want to come along if I go exploring?” Harry asked hopefully. The only time he’d been out of the country so far had been that shopping trip for school in Paris. Harry had enjoyed it but mostly, because Hermione was so relaxed and competent at handling life even in a foreign country. He knew he’d need to adapt as well if he moved abroad, but he was honest enough with himself that he wanted the support for the first steps.

"Sure. As much as I can fit it in around my classwork."

“Of course,” Harry said with a smile.

"So, now that we have your next professional steps sorted, how is your love life doing?" Hermione smiled serenely at him, and it made Harry groan.

“You know, I could ask you the same question.”

“One, I asked first and two, the answer is boring because I don’t have one. So I’ll just have to live vicariously through my best friend.”

Harry threw her a nasty look but knew that it wouldn’t help any, especially because Hermione knew that he didn’t really mind talking about it, at least not with her.

“I sometimes wish I didn’t have one either.”

“Things not going well with your hot Muggle lover boy?”

“No, that’s going perfectly well, for what it is.”

“But it’s no big love story, hn?” Hermione asked, compassion replacing the earlier teasing.

"Definitely not. And I never expected it to. Marc's 18 and full of dreams to leave the tiny village he was born in and find his future in London. Becoming the stepdaddy to a toddler would totally cramp his style. He's not mean about it and actually pretty good with Teddy whenever they interact. He just holds himself back, so there's no attachment growing between them and I even appreciate that. We had an honest conversation about our expectations when we started this thing, and I'm still sticking to those. We don't really have enough in common to build a relationship on anyway."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I always felt a little removed from other kids my age, but it seems to be much worse since the war. I feel this weird mixture of wanting to enjoy life to the fullest, but because I know how truly precious it is, not just for fun, and at the same time, I can't stop feeling on guard and responsible and like I have to be in full control of my life."

“That’s actually a pretty good description,” Harry agreed.

“So if you and Marc are purely physical by your own choice and the sex is still great, what has you moaning about your love life?”

“Ginny.”

"Oh, dear. I did notice her unsubtle lingering under the mistletoe at Christmas."

“Yeah, I can’t tell you how close I was to apparating from room to room to avoid the bloody things in the doorways. And then she tried again on New Year’s Eve, you know, the whole whoever you kiss at the start of the new year nonsense. She even sent me the most ridiculous Valentine’s Day card!”

Hermione struggled to contain her laughter. “Sorry. I know she’s a pain in your bum, but that’s a little bit funny.”

"Glad my misery is of entertainment to you," Harry said glumly but without any real bite. "When she asked me about it a few days later, I told her it must have been caught in the mail ward, which is set to destroy all Valentine's messages. The shock on her face was glorious, and Bill almost choked on his tea, because he knows very well that all the Weasley's mail always goes through to me. Luckily, he didn't rat me out."

Hermione was openly laughing now. “No, he wouldn’t. He thinks Ginny’s crush is totally pathetic.”

“I think her crush is more about my bank account than about me. She keeps talking about all the places we could travel to, the things we could see, the adventures we could have… you see where this is going.”

“Selfish, little chit. She ignores your countless ‘not interested’ about as much as Teddy’s presence in your life.”

“Yeah,” Harry sighed. “She said more than once that I should ‘hand him back’ to Andromeda, so I would be ‘free to live my life’.” He totally drew the air quotes around that nonsense, even though it jostled Hermione. “The longer this goes on, the less I can even stand to be in her presence. It hurts that she is turning out to be this heartless, I never saw that in her before.”

“No, me neither. I don’t know where that’s coming from. But you’ll have a new ally in the future. When I was over at the burrow for tea earlier in the week, she was saying something similar to me. No actually, it was quite a bit nastier.”

“What exactly did she say?” Harry asked hesitantly. He didn’t _want_ to know, but he thought he should probably hear it to be prepared.

Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “She told me how she hoped you’d stop playing house with the little wolf cub soon, so you’d give all your attention to her again and start having a proper career, worthy of your status. She said that Teddy didn’t deserve your attention and that Remus should have never asked you to take on such a burden.”

“Teddy is a gift.” Harry shuddered. “Merlin, I’d never thought her capable of such cruel words.”

“Me neither. And Molly heard her as well. She was absolutely furious and gave Ginny a dressing down that was embarrassing to witness but also absolutely epic. Essentially, she told Ginny that what she said was disrespectful towards everything you value in your life and that Ginny clearly was the one who didn’t deserve your attention and that Molly couldn’t see that changing at all in the future if that was Ginny’s attitude to you.”

“Wow. That’s quite a change in tone.”

"I know. I don't think Ginny had slipped up like that in front of her family before. It was the first time I heard her say something like that as well. Molly didn't want to hear any excuses and just told Ginny to grow up and stop putting her own wishes first, or she'd never find a decent wizard to like her."

“She can’t have taken that well.”

“No, not at all. But at least it seems as if Molly will stop telling you what a lovely couple you two made.”

* * *

Harry stepped out into the sun and headed towards the park, Hermione and Andromeda had taken Teddy to.

Nevers had just been a random stop on their tour around France, just a quaint city on the banks of the Loire to explore and enjoy. And now it looked as if it would end Harry’s search for an apprenticeship. Looking at his surroundings, he could see himself living here quite happily.

Throughout their travels, they had explored many a castle and cathedral as the masters of their craft, Harry was interested in meeting, often had their workshops close to these buildings. Old stonework needed competent repair work after all, and it had become apparent very quickly, that outside of Britain, many a magical stonemason and sculptor preferred to work in both worlds. Harry had been surprised by how much the cathedrals and churches appealed to him. He had no spiritual interest in the religious dimension, but it seemed to give the stones an energy the likes of which he had only ever experienced at Hogwarts, and it only made him more interest in working with them.

When they had gone to visit Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte that morning, Harry had gotten a little lost in the details, and when Teddy had grown restless, the women had taken him to a playground they'd found the day before to burn off some energy. Harry had been willing to go with them, but Andromeda had patted his arm and told him to play with his stones some more.

He’d promised to join them for lunch, which they had packed a small picnic for, and that’s where he was headed now. He found them in the shade of a large tree.

Teddy spotted him first.

“Daddy!” he screamed and promptly abandoned his apple slices in favour of toddling over to greet Harry.

“Hello, Teddy! Did you have fun with your grandma and Auntie Mione?” Harry scooped him up in his arms and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Yes! Swings!" was Teddy's enthusiastic answer, and Harry knew full well that whenever swings were involved, Teddy was in heaven. They were by far his favourite.

“Awww, I can’t believe I missed that. Did you leave me some lunch at least? Daddy is hungry.”

“Yes!” Teddy wiggled to be let down and proceeded to pull Harry over to the blanket and make him sit down. “Apple, Daddy.” He picked up one of the partially eaten slices from his own plate and offered it to Harry, meaning he pushed it straight into his mouth.

"Hmmm, yummy, thank you, Teddy. But those are your apple slices so you can eat some more. I'm sure grandma has a sandwich for daddy." In no time at all, he was settled in with a plate of his own filled with small sandwiches, crisps, and accompanied by a lovely cup of tea. Thank Merlin for anti-spilling charms when picnicking with a toddler.

“Soooo,” Hermione started leadingly, “you seem to be in a mighty good mood for just having spent the morning looking at old stones. Even for you.”

"Yup. Because I did quite a bit more than just look at old stones, I ended up talking to the people working on the upkeep and restoration of the cathedral. It just so happens that the master who owns the workshop is a wizard, he just mostly works for Muggles, that's why he didn't pop up in our research. He made me show my skill on a piece of leftover stone, and by the time I was done, he offered me an apprenticeship contract." He bit into one of his sandwiches with a broad grin.

“That’s wonderful news, Harry!” Hermione said excitedly and enveloped him in a hug, almost making him choke on his sandwich.

“Congratulations, Harry!” Andromeda joined in with a broad smile.

Teddy was clapping and squealing, not really understanding what was going on but always happy to laugh and party along with anyone.

“Thanks, guys. That truly turned out easier than I thought it might.”

"Have you signed already? When do you start? Oh my god, we need to find you a flat or a house!" Hermione almost forgot to breathe in her excitement.

"Slow down, Mione! Nothing needs to be done yesterday." Harry laughed. "Laurent, the master, told me to sleep on it for a night before I make my final decision. He's of the opinion that an apprenticeship should never be taken lightly. But I can't see why I wouldn't take this. I'm super impressed with his work and like the large range of styles, he's using. I paid attention to how he treated everyone in the workshop, and I think he's a truly nice guy. They do a mixture of precision work on large stones to replace damaged ones in historical buildings and really detailed artistic work. And they do it both with Muggle and magical methods, just what I was looking for."

“And how does he feel about having Harry Potter as his apprentice?” Andromeda wanted to know.

"He said he'd only care if it made me think I didn't have to do the menial tasks every apprentice has to go through. I told him I was very well acquainted with all the functions of a broom, not just the flying one. That seemed to meet his sense of humour, so I think we're good. He even said he might know a place I could rent, and he already has a playroom for his grandkids set up in the back of the workshop, so I could even take Teddy to work some of the time. Though I've been thinking about letting him experience kindergarten, and there is apparently a nice, magical one just one town over."

“It would help him learn French, among other things,” Andromeda agreed.

Hermione nodded. “Sounds like Nevers could be very good for you, Harry. I’m so happy for you!”

* * *

**2002**

Harry was in the middle of packing when Hermione arrived.

He'd dropped Teddy off with Andromeda earlier that morning after a practically sleepless night full of nightmares, and Hedwig had decided to go with the boy. Harry thought it was adorable how much his owl tended to watch over his son. If he allowed himself to think differently, he'd probably get jealous, but that would be inappropriate, as Hedwig was still just as attached to him as ever, and her worry for Teddy was just an extension of his own.

Hermione went over to the window but stayed behind the curtains to glower at the nut jobs that called themselves the British magical press and were the reason for Teddy’s nightmares.

"It's been six days, and they haven't given up in the slightest," Harry explained. "My landlords and Master Laurent have been more than patient with this madness, but the way they scared Teddy yesterday… it's beyond the pale. I've never seen him like this, and I never want to again."

"Vultures, the lot of them. I could happily turn them all into ugly toads." Hermione's wand hand twitched, and Harry knew full well this was no idle threat.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but let’s not give them any more ammunition.”

“Have you figured out what tipped them off like this?”

“The fourth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts definitely renewed public interest, but best I can tell, this particular madness was caused by Ginny telling one reporter about how deeply unhappy and utterly heartbroken I was here in France.”

“What?! How did she come up with that nonsense?” Hermione finally turned away from the window and came over to where Harry was wrapping his plates for transport.

“She somehow heard that my boyfriend broke up with me, which wasn’t a nice experience, but I wouldn’t quite call myself heartbroken.”

"Certainly not. And the way he was behaving towards the end, he wasn't worth much heartache. I'd describe you as appropriately hurt and angry. Ginny, on the other hand, was positively gleeful at the news. She was bad enough when you were dating Marie, but ever since it became known that you were involved with a man, she was absolutely terrible."

“But _why?_ I mean, not that Etienne didn't turn out to be a bastard at the end, where Marie was just not a good fit, but why would the gender of whoever Ginny sees as her competition matter?" It was one of those moments when women didn't make much sense to Harry.

"Because she has no hope to compete with a man as she simply can't offer you the same things. At the same time, I think she's a bit conservative when it comes to sexuality. She hasn't outright said anything, and she better not, given how utterly gay Charlie is and the more than flexible approach of the twins. But she's a bit of a prude, so I don't think it ever sat right with her that you are bisexual. She calls it your experimentation phase."

“Ugh, I hate that stupid talk of phases so much. I guess I’m supposed to count myself lucky that she is still willing to take me back. Nope, thank you, skipped a bullet there.” Harry shuddered under the thought of what sex with Ginny might have been like if Hermione was right. There was only so much missionary with the lights out a man could endure. “Let’s talk about something else than the bane of my existence.”

“Right.” Hermione looked around the combined living room and kitchen. “What can I do to help?”

“I left my books for you to pack,” Harry told her and got a smile in return as she walked over to his modest bookshelf.

"Do you know where you're going next? I know your cottage has solid wards, but you'd be essentially a prisoner in your home with that madness going on." She gestured vaguely towards the crowd outside. "And what about your apprenticeship?"

"Thankfully, Laurent came up trumps for me again. An old colleague of his is almost ready to retire and is looking for someone to take over his workshop. His name is Bernard Deniel, and he's willing to let me finish my apprenticeship with him if I promise to seriously consider buying his shop afterwards. It's not a part of the contract or anything, just a request. Laurent thinks, Deniel would round out my skill set well and be the right person to nurture my sculpting talent further, so that sounds good to me."

“It does sound good and not to be the naysayer or anything, but where is the catch? I can firmly hear it in what you aren’t saying.” Hermione pointed her finger at him as if to remind him that evasion tactics would not be tolerated.

"There's something I'm not overly excited about, yeah, but all things considered, it might be for the better. Deniel lives in Canada, moved there decades ago, according to Laurent. It would get Teddy and me far away from all those crazy people that can't stop getting involved in my life, and maybe, that distance will even lessen their interest in me."

Hermione looked doubtful at that last part but didn’t say anything about it. “It would also take you far away from your friends and Teddy far away from his grandma.”

"Yeah, that's the catch part. I talked it through with Andromeda, and the bottom line is, we both want Teddy to grow up happy and somewhere he can feel safe. We were very happy here, but the safety has been destroyed, and the longer the press is camping out there, the smaller the chances Teddy will be comfortable here again. The same is true for me."

“Well, international portkeys aren’t fun, but at least it won’t take me forever to come and visit you. So don’t think you’ll get rid of me, Harry James!” The way Hermione put her hands on her hips made Harry laugh.

"I'd never want to get rid of you, Mione. You're my best friend in the whole world, and I'll miss you like crazy." He hugged her tightly to him for a moment longer than strictly necessary, but she didn't let go either, so he figured it was okay. Then, they went back to packing up his life in France.


	3. Chapter 3

**2008**

"Dad! There's a wizard in the town square, and he sounds just as posh as you!"

Harry sat his chisel down with a sigh. Posh mostly meant whoever had arrived had a British accent. Despite his and Andromeda's best efforts, Teddy had developed rather a mishmash of accents that sounded primarily Canadian. Harry could only hope it wasn't a reporter who'd found him. He'd come to enjoy the peace over the last few years as the British public grew too frustrated with him to still care all that much.

“What have I told you about making sure there’s no Muggle around before you talk about magic?” he asked sternly as his son barrelled through the door into his workshop but slowed his steps as he crossed the threshold.

“But there’s nobody in here but you, Dad!”

"And how could you have known that before you came through the door? For that matter, how many neighbours might have heard you, yelling all over the place, hn?" At 10, Teddy was perfectly capable of thinking things through, he just mostly chose not to, so Harry tried to encourage it more instead of merely telling him off.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Dad, I didn’t think of that.” Teddy looked satisfactory contrite for Harry to believe it might last for a few days.

“So what’s up with that wizard?” he asked, making Teddy’s eyes light up and flash an unnaturally bright green for a moment in renewed excitement. Thank Merlin for glamours.

"He looks as old as you, and he has a motorcycle, not a magical one, just a regular Muggle one. But his bags are magical, I could see the expansion charms on them, I swear! He just looked around, like a tourist or something. He went to the vacancy board and seemed disappointed because everything is full. But wouldn't it be cool if he stayed for a while? Maybe it's even someone you know from back in Britain, and maybe he's not one of the twatwaffles that wouldn't leave us alone!" Teddy was literally jumping up and down by the time he came to an end, and Harry went to wash his hands, knowing for sure he wouldn't get a moment's peace until he accompanied Teddy to take a look at the mysterious British wizard with the motorcycle.

Harry tutted over the bicycle Teddy had yet again carelessly dropped in the middle of the driveway, but nothing could put a damper on his son's excitement, so Harry just pulled his own bike out of the garage to go and see who the new arrival was.

The ride towards the town square didn't take long at all, but when they arrived, Teddy was disappointed that the man was nowhere to be seen.

“But he must be still here. There’s his bike over there, see!” He pointed towards a very nicely cared for Harley parked in one of the parking spots.

There were indeed expansion charms on the bags strapped to it, as well as anti-theft wards and some other security measures. Harry had developed his mage sight after completing his last magical maturation after the war and honing the skill had come as a side effect of learning how to read the stone he was working with. Teddy, on the other hand, had exhibited signs of the gift early on. Harry had tried for a while to teach him how to manage it and his inherited metamorphmagus skill himself, but being teacher and father at the same time had not worked out for them at all, so he'd found Teddy a very nice tutor instead. Teddy was doing well in his lessons, though full control would only come as he aged.

“I wonder where he went,” Teddy was musing only to suddenly dart off across the lawn that made up most of the square. “Julia!” he called out, spotting a group of his school friends. “Do you know where the Brit with the motorcycle went?”

“Yeah, he went into _Sandrine’s Café_ just a moment ago. We've been watching him because he might be someone exciting for once. Oh, hi, Mr Potter!" she finished as Harry caught up with Teddy.

"I went and got dad because he might know the guy. We're from Britain as well, you know." Teddy sounded so important that Harry had to suppress the urge to laugh. It looked like somebody might have his first crush.

"But Britain isn't that small, silly. Why would your dad just happen to know a random tourist coming to Canmore?" Julia sounded a lot like a young Hermione in that moment, and Harry could see Teddy deflate under her logic, so he figured he'd better play wingman.

“Teddy thought one of the badges the man has on his bags looked like one I have from my old boarding school back home. So we might have gone to the same school. We’d have to be close in age though, for me to actually know him, even if that is the case,” he quickly made up, using the fact that the bags had indeed quite a number of badges sewn to them. He could always transfigure something to show off if Julia asked about it the next time she came over - because Hermione surely would have.

“There he is,” one of the other kids interrupted them and pointed to the café across the street.

When Harry turned around to look, he froze for a long moment at the familiar yet unfamiliar sight. Malfoy. His hair was still platinum blonde but now slightly longer and carelessly tussled. Harry had seen him in Muggle clothes several times after the war, but he had still always looked very much the rich and cultured boy that he had been raised to be. That look had vanished in favour of well-worn but incredibly body-hugging jeans, a simple white t-shirt and a leather jacket that he tossed over the back of a chair as he settled in with a cup and a bagel. He looked surprisingly comfortable in his surroundings. And surprisingly attractive.

“Dad?” Teddy’s voice interrupted his rather startling train of thought. “Do you know the guy?”

“Yes. We did indeed go to school together, but we weren’t exactly the best of friends. It’s a bit of a complicated story.”

“Don’t you want to go over to him and say hello, anyway?” Julia asked. “I mean, it’s been years since you were in school and isn’t it the weirdest coincidence that you run into each other so many miles away from your home country? Maybe it’s even fate giving you a sign!”

Harry wanted to snort at the stars in her eyes at that last part. Whenever fate did have a plan for him, it didn't turn out half as romantic as she was fantasising about. He wasn't in the habit of crushing little girls' dreams, though.

“I guess it would be impolite not to at least say hello,” he agreed. It took Teddy shoving him not so subtly in the back to actually get him going.

“Hello, Malfoy,” he greeted as he approached his table. “Quite a surprise to meet you here.”

“Potter,” Malfoy looked just as surprised as Harry had felt earlier, which at least meant he hadn’t come to Canmore because of him. “Wow, that’s quite the coincidence. I mean, I knew you’d moved to Canada, but it isn’t exactly a small country. Have a seat.”

Harry nodded his thanks as he pulled out the chair. “So, who’s been keeping you up to date on my whereabouts?”

“Neville, mostly. Though mother and Aunt Andromeda have reconnected as well, so I’ve heard a few things through her as well.”

“You know my grandma?” Teddy interrupted them, reminding Harry not only of his presence but that of all the other kids lingering at the edge of the café’s seating area.

“Sit down, Teddy, and meet your cousin Draco. I’m sure he can tell you your exact degree of relation if you’re interested,” he said with a wry smile before turning around. “Kids, do me a favour and get lost, will ya? Teddy can report all the hottest gossip to you later.”

There were the beginnings of murmured protest, the summer was long, and boredom was starting to settle in, so every bit of excitement was latched onto immediately. But then, Julia took the reigns. "Will do, Mr Potter. Come on, everybody, let's give them some privacy. This qualifies as a family reunion, so it's none of our business."

Harry was thankful that nobody argued with her after that. He waved over Sandrine’s nephew who was helping out in the café over the summer and ordered an ice tea for himself and Teddy’s favourite juice.

“Does it still strike you as odd to be addressed as an adult like this?” Malfoy asked as he watched the children gather up their bikes and scooters and vanish to the other side of the square, at least pretending not to watch them anymore.

“All the time. You’d think school would have gotten us used to be called mister, but it sure hasn’t worked for me,” Harry admitted.

“Did they call you Mr Potter, in school, Daddy? That’s so odd.” Teddy looked at him with large eyes.

"It's quite common in British boarding schools for teachers and staff to address the students by their last names, and it bleeds over to how students address each other unless they become close friends," Draco explained before Harry could say anything.

"Which makes it all the more telling that you've stopped calling Neville' Longbottom'" Harry commented.

"Well, sharing a room with a bloke for a year can go one of two ways. Either you become friends, or it's a miracle both of you survive. Neville and I discovered that we made quite decent friends and kept in touch. I even got a tour of his newest greenhouse while he was still planting it when I was home in Britain the last time."

Harry was impressed because that was a big show of trust when it came to Neville. He knew that the two still exchanged letters every so often but hadn’t known they were this close.

“So, what brings you into our sleepy little town?”

"Can't I be just another tourist? This place seems pretty popular, judging by the lack of vacancies. I already tried calling all the hotels ahead with no luck."

"Yeah, the main season is pretty busy here. We're a good base to explore the National Park from. Maybe I'm thinking of the old Malfoy, and you've changed more than I give you credit for, but I can't see you vacationing in a place like this. I see you more in some fancy hotel with multiple pools, spa and private beach or in a bustling city with all the cultured amenities those have to offer."

Malfoy laughed. “While I’ve come to appreciate the simpler things in life, you’re not wrong. When I treat myself to a holiday, I do like to treat myself properly. I’m actually here for work, well, sort of. I’ve been asked to design a new hotel in the area for a client I’ve worked for before. He has very particular expectations about the result, so I want to check out the location first, get a feeling for the area to make sure the finished project will fit right in rather than standing out like a sore thumb in the landscape like some hotels do.”

“I’ve heard about those plans,” Harry said. “They have a lot of people here very worried. As much as tourism is important for the economy around here, people aren’t too keen on the landscape being disrupted and wildlife disturbed. That’s what people come here for after all.”

“Trust me, I get it. And for what it’s worth, I think you could have done much worse with a different developer. Yes, it’s about business and the bottom line, but this guy does make an honest effort to set things up as sustainable as he can. It didn’t make my job designing the last hotel any easier, but it was one of the more satisfying projects I’ve worked on.” Malfoy sounded convinced, but Harry still kept his counsel.

“You’ve become an architect then? Quite the change from the last plans I remember you sharing with me.”

“A change of scenery does wonders sometimes. And what about you? I don’t think anybody ever said.”

"Dad's an artist!" Teddy piped up, and Harry was truly surprised he'd stayed quiet for as long as he had.

“An artist, wow, that sounds fascinating. What kind of art does your dad make?” Malfoy asked Teddy earnestly.

“He makes sculptures from stone that people put in their garden and also sometimes for graves. He makes lots of small things from stones from the park for tourists to take as souvenirs and they love them. But he can also make the perfect fitting stone to replace a broken one in an old building,” Teddy explained proudly.

"I'm a stonemason," Harry added his own perspective. "More a craftsman than an artist, but I do like the creative aspects of the job."

“Completely different path than what the people back home wanted you to do. It’s a good thing that you managed to get away from that then, you’d have become miserable as a cop.”

Harry groaned at the thought. “And just imagine the amount of politics they would have inflicted on me. No thanks. I much prefer my workshop.”

"Yeah, absolutely nobody needs that kind of negativity in their life," Draco agreed. "As I have the insider knowledge of a local available to me, you wouldn't happen to know of a place where I could stay? Anything that's not booked out for the foreseeable future? I'm sure I could find a hotel room somewhere between here and Calgary, but I'd rather not drive that far all the time, and any distance gets in the way of getting a feeling for a town."

“No, sorry. It was even in the paper the other day how well this season was going and that every last bed in town was booked.”

"Shame. But I guess that bodes well for the new hotel my client wants to build if people are that eager to visit here. I'm sure the winter season isn't bad, either."

“Yeah, winter sport is a big deal in the area,” Harry said.

“Why can’t Draco come and stay in the loft?” Teddy piped in. “I mean, with him being family and you having gone to school together and all that. It would be like having Uncle Neville or Aunt Hermione staying with us.”

"That's very kind of you, Teddy," Malfoy said. "But I wouldn't want to impose. It's also not quite the same when your dad's friends come to visit you as if I were to stay with you while doing things for work all the time."

"But we're cousins, and I've never even met you before! You could do your work stuff, and we could get to know each other when you're not working. I could even help show you the town and Dad knows the mountains and woods in the park the best!"

Teddy's eagerness was adorable, and Harry saw the same amusement he was feeling in Draco's eyes. It was equally obvious that Malfoy was about to decline the offer again to spare Harry having to do it, so he decided to add his two cents first.

"Teddy's right, you know. The loft is hardly an all-inclusive hotel, but it's clean, and the bed is comfortable. There's even a little kitchen if you want to make your own food, or you could join us for meals as you like. Teddy is obviously eager to get to know you, and I don't mind having you around for a bit. Only caveat is that I sometimes start work early, and as the loft is the same side of the property as my workshop, it could get a bit loud."

Malfoy gave Harry a probing look and but his hesitance about accepting the offer seemed to be shrinking. “That’s not really an issue, seeing as I hadn’t planned on sleeping in anyway. So if you’re sure that it’s not a problem, I’d take you up on that offer. But I’m paying you rent!”

"We can talk about that later," Harry said over Teddy's cheering and ignored the mild glare he received from Malfoy. They finished their drinks to Teddy chattering about random things and starting on his endeavour to learn everything there was to know about his newfound cousin.

Harry gave Malfoy directions to their house, which luckily wasn’t too difficult to get to, and they met up there again.

“Nice place, Potter,” Malfoy said with an appreciative look over the property.

"Thanks," Harry said and tried to see his home through the eyes of somebody seeing it for the first time. He'd mostly added various plants and trees to the front and back garden, not liking the open, empty look they'd had when he bought the place. He'd found he liked puttering about the garden if he could follow his own whims and the result looked nothing like the precisely manicured boredom Aunt Petunia had favoured.

“Come on, I’ll show you the loft. It has its own entrance on the side of the garage. There’s also enough room to park your bike inside. Speaking of - Teddy, your bike goes in the garage as well.”

“But Dad, what if I need it again later?” Teddy wined. It was an old argument between them.

“One, pulling it out of the garage doesn’t take that long, two, you’ve just invited a guest to stay with us and want to ask him all the questions, so it’s unlikely you’ll leave again today even if he might prefer it, and three, one of these days a customer or delivery driver will pull into the driveway, overlook your bike and crash it. And don’t expect me to take pity on you then.”

Teddy still looked petulant, but the prospect of losing his bike and the independence it gave him shut him up, and he put his bike away with a sigh and minimal fuss. Malfoy had watched the scene with an expression on his face that Harry couldn't interpret at all, but he had long since given up on worrying about what other people thought about how he raised his son. Parenting couldn't always be kept out of the public, and overall, Teddy was a fairly well-behaved 10-year-old. But just like every other kid, he had his moments that Harry tried to handle with reasonable punishments and as little shouting as possible.

Bike in place, Teddy dashed off towards the house. "I'll get the keys!"

Malfoy pushed his bike into the garage, where it neatly fit beside Harry’s car, and unfastened his bags, then followed Harry up the stairs to the small porch area in front of the loft door. By the time they got there, Teddy was pounding up the stairs already, keys in hand.

“This is it,” Harry said as he opened the door. “Not much, but enough. The cleaning lady has been through it just this last week, so everything should be in order.”

Teddy took over the rest of the tour through the small space, adding much more detail than necessary, but Malfoy took it with an astonishing amount of goodwill. "And up here is where I slept when we moved here," Teddy proclaimed as he climbed up a ladder that led to a platform bed hidden behind a curtain with colourful dinosaurs on them.

“Wow, that’s a cool sleeping space,” Malfoy admired when he got to the top of the ladder. “How old were you when you moved in?”

“Four. Dad said the press got so bonkers that I got nightmares, so he put the Atlantic and most of a continent between them and us.”

"Yeah, I remember that madness in the papers. The best part was when they finally got a statement from your aunt Hermione, and she told them that it was their own stupid fault that Potter had left Europe because they showed no more common sense than a niffler in a jewellery shop and chased him away. I'm surprised your dad let you sleep so high up at that age."

“Wards, Malfoy, the secret of parenting without getting a heart attack is wards. No idea how Muggles do it, I’d be a wreck,” Harry said drily. “Do you think you can stand it here for a while?”

“Oh, absolutely. Believe it or not, I’ve made do with less.”

"Great. I'll go grab you fresh linens and towels and let you unpack. Wanna join us for dinner? I'm making chicken Alfredo, and there's always plenty."

“If it’s no hassle, I’ll gladly take that invite.”

“Good. Teddy, come along, you can help me carry a few things to set Malfoy up with the essentials.

Over in his own kitchen, Harry put together a small basket with bottled water, a packet of biscuits and everything needed for a good cuppa. It was difficult to drag Teddy away again after delivering all the things to Malfoy, but Harry managed to give him a little privacy to get settled in.

Teddy was pestering him with questions, so he eventually sent him outside to play and burn off some energy until dinner was ready. As the backdoor clicked into its lock, Harry braced himself on the counter and took a deep breath to let it out slowly.

A soft hoot from the window alerted him to Hedwig's presence before she hopped onto the counter beside his hand and plucked on his sleeve until he started to pet her. The interaction never failed to give him comfort, and she knew it very well.

Hermione had teased him a lot about his preoccupation with Malfoy over the years, even after they left school, to the point where he had made a conscious effort to not mention him anymore. He wished he could say he’d also managed to ban the other man from his mind, but he also tried very hard not to lie to himself. Having Malfoy walk straight back into his life like this would be hell on his heart, he could already tell. And why did the pretty git have to be even more attractive than in their teens? And have turned into a decent guy who didn’t seem to mind Teddy?

Basically, Harry was fucked.


	4. Chapter 4

The third morning Draco woke up in Canmore, he stretched out under the covers and blinked into the morning sunshine. The quiet of the small town was wonderful after he had spent most of the last two years in large, busy, noisy cities. He'd gotten used to that, but he always felt more at ease someplace quieter, that was closer to his childhood experiences.

On the other hand, waking up in Harry Potter’s loft was still rather odd.

Potter.

The scrawny boy had grown into a bloody handsome man, whose movements spoke of easy strength built on work rather than in a gym. Seeing him like this was not what Draco had expected, but then again, he hadn't had any specific expectations, to begin with. Over the years, he'd subtly paid attention whenever one of their mutual acquaintances spoke of him, but after the press had managed to chase Potter all the way out of Europe with their craziness, everyone close to him was understandably tight-lipped about his whereabouts and activities. Draco had never dared to look too interested, unsure of how exactly it would be taken, but sure whoever he asked would make assumptions of some sort.

So this Potter was a surprise if a very pleasant one. As was little Teddy.

Draco already regretted that he had never made an effort to meet his younger first cousin once removed - because of course, he knew precisely the degree they were related at, unlike Potter, the heathen. He had been excited for his mother when she and her remaining sister reconnected as he knew how much she missed her family over the years. Being married to Lucius had come with plenty of social responsibilities and opportunities to entertain, but little to no meaningful personal friendships. Draco had gotten to know his aunt some during his visits home over the last years, and she talked about Teddy a little, but there had never been a good opportunity to ask about meeting the boy, and Draco knew that his mother felt the same.

Seeing how excited Teddy was to claim a family member, all the questions he pestered Draco with whenever a chance had presented itself, Draco regretted not having tried to make this connection earlier, more so for Teddy than himself. But all he could do now was to make himself as available to the boy as his work allowed, be patient with the sometimes overexcited babbling and allow for the two of them to get to know each other as much as Potter was comfortable with.

And therein lay the crux, he had no clue where Potter stood on the issue. The man had been generous to take him in, if on Teddy's suggestion, and fed him an excellent dinner that first night. But the next two days he had been notably invisible. Draco had heard him working in his workshop, and he supposed he could have gone and talked to Potter there. He just wasn't sure of his welcome, so he avoided intruding on a place most craftsmen considered a sanctuary.

He shook himself out of his musings and got out of bed. He wouldn’t sort out how and if to approach Potter without any additional input, and he wouldn’t get that by lying about either. And he had work to do and places to explore.

* * *

He came back to the house mid-afternoon as the majority of the town seemed distracted and busy somehow - not the best conditions to get a beat of everyday life. The next day would be the first of a three day weekend, but Draco didn't quite understand how that alone could be the reason for the level of activity he had witnessed.

He found Potter and Teddy in the driveway, fixing something on Teddy’s bike.

“Hi, Draco!” Teddy greeted as soon as he spotted him. “My chain snapped, and I almost crashed in a parked car from the surprise, but I totally rescued that! Dad is putting a new one on. Will you come to the lake with us tomorrow? Everyone is going!”

Draco waited for a moment, just in case anything more was coming, but it looked like the boy was done for now. "Good afternoon, Edward. I'm glad to hear that you were neither injured, nor caused any property damage due to the failure of your bicycle, and you are very fortunate to have such a talented father to repair it for you." Teddy was already giggling as he always did when Draco pulled out his aristocratic upbringing, which was precisely why he did it. Surprisingly, Potter seemed to be fighting down a smile as well. "I'm afraid I was not informed of any public gatherings at the lake tomorrow. Pray tell, what would that be all about?"

At that point, Teddy had to control his laughter before he could answer and Draco noticed with some satisfaction that the tool Potter was using was ever so slightly shaking in his hand.

"Every year, all the dads and uncles and granddads take all the kids to the lake to play and swim the whole day, so we're out of the way. And we grill fish over the bonfire, and it's totally awesome!"

“Why would you all need to be out of the way? Do the women of the town have a collective spa day or something?”

"No." Teddy was back to laughing full force, but thankfully, Potter put down his tool and joined the conversation.

"It's an old tradition of sorts. Sunday is the yearly pie and cake baking contest. In the past, only women took part, but these days there are also a bunch of male bakers involved. We aren't all that backwards out here after all. Because there was always and still is a lot of preparation going on on Saturday before the contest, and there are baking teams meeting up at one person's house and such, the children often got in the way. So the dads started taking them to the lake for a day of fun, so the women could work in peace. And that part remains to this day. It's just a dads and their kids kinda day, but many grandfathers, uncles, godfathers and so on come as well. It's fun, and the weather is supposed to be perfect for it tomorrow."

“I don’t think I qualify to be included in such a tradition. I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Draco said, though with the temperatures increasing over the last few days, going for a swim sounded lovely. And it didn’t sound as if he had much chance of getting anything done tomorrow in town anyway.

“Of course, you do!” Teddy protested. “You’re my cousin, you’re family. That’s all that matters.”

“He’s right. Nobody would mind. It might even help you get an in with the locals, make them talk to you more openly. Though I wouldn’t bring the hotel project up tomorrow,” Potter said.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. People never take well to someone dragging down the mood on such occasions with business stuff. Besides, I’m not a fan of working in my swimming trunks,” Draco deadpanned, renewing Teddy’s giggles.

"Glad to hear," Potter answered just as dryly. "Anyway, we're taking Julia with us. Her dad is a park ranger and on duty this weekend, so I offered to bring her along. She's very easy to have around and much more likely to stop any shenanigans than cause them. But there's still room in the car if you're interested. We're leaving at nine, and you could come over for pancakes half an hour before that."

“Pancakes!” Teddy yelled, jumping up and down. “Will you come with us to the lake?”

"Pancakes and swimming? I guess this is an offer I can't refuse," Draco said with a smile and was relieved to see Potter smile at his answer. It would suck if he had only offered out of a sense of duty.

* * *

The car was barely parked, the motor still running, when Teddy was already out of the car and running towards the water and a few of his friends that were already there. Julia waited to unbuckle herself until Potter had actually turned off the car.

“Shall I help you carry the things down to the lake, Mr Potter?” she offered with just a quick glance down the hill.

“Thank you, Julia, but it’s fine. We can manage. You go and have fun,” Harry waved her off.

“Thank you!” She dashed off after Teddy.

“I guess that makes me the guest who has to work for the ride, hn?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The joys of being an adult, Malfoy. The joys of being an adult." Potter handed him his backpack and a basket with a blanket on top, loading himself down with not only his own bag but Teddy's, Julia's, a cooler and another blanket.

“I can take something else, you know,” Draco offered.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve got it in hand now already. Come on.”

Draco soon caught on to the fact that Potter had made sure they were among the first to arrive, so they could claim a nice spot in the shade of the tree line, as within the next hour, half the town seemed to descend on the lake and good spots where harder to come by. Draco was grateful. Sunblock charms could prevent even his pale English skin from getting burned, but that didn’t mean he was anymore made for the heat the mercury was displaying.

Potter didn't seem to mind that much and his healthy tan spoke of plenty of time spent in the outdoors. It also looked incredibly good on him, but Draco did his best to ignore that.

The lake that was thankfully very clear, so one wouldn’t get so freaked out by collisions with fish or other things drifting under the surface, and the morning flew by with rounds of swimming, various games one or the other dad had packed or the children made up on the spot, and explorations of the woods.

Draco was honestly surprised by how much fun he had and how easily he was accepted. When someone asked who he was, he just told them that he was a cousin of Teddy’s and here for a visit, and that was that.

When Potter called Teddy and Julia over for a bit of lunch, Draco's stomach grumbled in agreement. They settled down on their blanket for some sandwiches and juice, and the kids happily chattered on between bites about what they had already done and what they wanted to do after they finished eating.

“Just remember, no swimming for at least half an hour. Give your tummy a bit of time to digest,” Harry told them.

“Yeah, Dad. I haven’t forgotten. We’re going to look for the hut Michael said he built last weekend. He said it was so well disguised, none of us would find it, but I think he’s just bragging,” Teddy said, sounding very convinced.

“When you’re ready to leave the woods, you can gather up some branches, the dryer the better, for the fires we’re building for later.”

“Okay, sure. I love the fires! And the fish!”

“Yeah, the fish is always very good,” Julia agreed. “But I don’t want to watch it getting prepared.”

“Why not?” Teddy asked astonished.

“I think it’s icky,” the girl said with a little shudder.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess it is a little bit icky. Dad has been doing it for as long as I can remember, so I guess I’m just used to it. You don’t have to watch or learn how to do it. Dad always says one of the lovely things about the times we live in is that we don’t have to know how to do everything ourselves anymore. We can buy things in the stores as little or as much prepared as we like,” Teddy reassured her.

Julia looked pleased not to be belittled for her discomfort about the disembowelling of fish.

Potter looked a curious mixture of proud and pained and Draco couldn’t resist a bit of teasing for the old times’ sake.

“That’s almost philosophical coming for you, Potter.”

“Oh, shut it, Malfoy. How many fish have you taken apart in your life, hn? I seem to remember somebody holding their nose close when we had to cut into frogs back in school.” Thankfully, the retort held no real malice.

"Touché, I'm among those dependent on grocery stores and their prep work. Given that I grew up with a cook in the house, I think it's an accomplishment that I can cook more than ramen noodles."

That made Julia giggle. “Why do you two address each other by your last names?” She asked.

"Because that's how they do it in fancy boarding schools back in Britain," Teddy explained, sounding rather long-suffering.

“But aren’t you family in a way? Sorry, that’s none of my business, I was just wondering,” she hastily added.

“Yeah, you’re right!” Teddy sounded excited. “We’re all family. Doubly so even. Draco is my cousin and Dad’s godfather was Draco’s cousin as well. And using last names with family members is just odd. I think you should stop it.” He crossed his arms over his chest as if it was a done deal, simply because he had come to a conclusion.

“It’s more complicated than that, Teddy, and it is something for me and Malfoy to decide, not you. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t family either way,” Potter said in his best reasonable dad voice.

“But-”

"No but. You do not get to make decisions for other people, we've talked about that before. I've heard your argument and will think about it, and that's it. End of discussion. Are you two done eating, or would you like some more fruit?"

The kids shook their heads no, and Julia looked like she wanted to apologise for bringing the topic up in the first place, so Draco gave her a reassuring smile.

"Then why don't you go and search for that hut of Michael's," Potter suggested, and they vanished into the trees within seconds.

Potter reached for another sandwich but only nibbled on it, and Draco had no clue what to do with the awkwardness.

“I’m sorry he’s latched onto the name thing like that,” Potter eventually offered.

“It’s fine. I guess it makes sense from his point of view.”

“Yeah, but I know Teddy. He won’t let it go and start a not so subtle campaign to pester us both into seeing things his way.”

“So, does that mean I should start thinking of you as Harry?” It took some effort for Draco to make his voice not sound overly hopeful at the prospect.

“Unless you’re totally against the idea, we would save ourselves a lot of hassle,” Potter said with a casual shrug, but Draco wasn’t sure how he really felt about it.

“I guess your name isn’t too terrible to use on occasion.”

“Glad you think so… Draco.”

“Whatever, Harry.”

They both sounded entirely blasé about it, but Draco couldn't miss the pleased smile and renewed vigour with which Potter, no, Harry, bit into his sandwich. What a truly interesting turn of events.

Teddy and Julia returned almost an hour later, and after a quick detour to where the wood for the fires was stacked to drop off their armful of branches, they came running back towards their blanket where Draco and Harry had both taken to sketching some designs, funnily enough. Both kids were smiling broadly.

“Found it!” Teddy proclaimed as he dropped down on the blanket and opened the cooler to pull out two bottles of water, handing the first over to Julia.

“Yes, it wasn’t easy, Michael did a decent job hiding it.”

“Decent maybe, but still sloppy if you know what to look for,” Teddy said. “He took the material from the immediate surroundings, so once we found a path without fallen logs and branches and stuff, I knew we were probably close. The rest wasn’t that hard.”

"No, it wasn't. Looking for the missing building material was a very neat trick, I hadn't thought of that," Julia said, smiling at Teddy, who blushed rather profusely.

"Nice job, you two," Harry praised them. "But you better jump into the water some more to get rid of all the dirt you brought with you, or it'll get itchy in a bit."

"Great idea, Dad! I'm too hot after carrying all that wood anyway." Teddy jumped up and pulled his t-shirt over his head and toed his shoes off at the same time. Julia took a little more care but was soon joining him on his way down to the water, where a group of kids had started some sort of splashing fight that involved lots of squeals and laughter.

“Am I seeing that right and somebody has his first crush?” Draco asked.

Harry groaned and let his head thump back against the tree he was propped against. “Yeah, afraid so. I’m too young to have a son with a crush!”

“Tough luck, Harry. Fate never hands you the easy path.”

“Isn’t that the truth.”

They dared another round of swimming and got roped into the splashing fight by some of the older teens, who apparently found them way cooler than their own, much older parents. It brought it home to Draco how little he knew what his role was in this whole context, sort off caught in between the generations. He couldn't spare it an awful lot of thought though as he was trying yet again not to get distracted by the way the water droplets ran over Harry's muscular chest.

Harry called it quits and waded out of the water when the dinghies a group of men had used to fish further away from the ruckus on the shore were pulled out of the water. He went over to their bags and pulled a rather large knife out of his backpack before heading over to the group and their catch.

Draco hesitated to follow at first because he rather agreed with Julia on the ickiness of fish until it landed in the pan, but then he figured he could control himself enough to take a look. By the time he got there, the men had set up a nice little work station where they prepped the whole catch for consumption. Draco hadn't expected just how much they'd pulled out of the water.

Teddy had quickly followed his dad and was avidly watching every movement and cut.

“Do you think you’re ready to do one yourself?” Harry eventually asked to Draco’s surprise.

“Yes!” Teddy said excitedly and positioned himself in front of his father. It came so naturally that Draco figured it wasn’t the first skill Harry was teaching him this way.

"Here, you wanna wear this for a start," one of the other men said and pulled a kid-sized chainmail glove from his toolbox. "Those knives are damn sharp, and we might get lazy with age and experience, but nobody learns without protection."

Teddy nodded eagerly and put the glove on with help from Harry.

Draco watched as Harry patiently guided Teddy's movements and explained with each step what they were doing and why it was important to do it the right way. It was more information than Draco had ever wanted about how to disembowel a fish, but the interactions between father and son were too nice to see for him to turn away.

“So, Carl said you are a cousin of little Teddy’s,” another bystander, old enough to likely already be a grandfather, interrupted Draco’s thoughts.

"What? Oh, yes; yes, I am. Once removed, actually. His grandmother is my mother's oldest sister. Due to all of us living in different countries, we hadn't met before I came to your lovely town for work."

“Work and young Teddy, that’s all your interests here?” There was a humorous twinkle in the man’s eyes that Draco wasn’t quite sure what to do with.

“Yes, exactly. What else would I be here for?”

“Oh, you never know these days. You never know,” he said with a knowing smile and wandered off to supervise the fires being built.

“Draco, look! I did it!”

Draco looked back down and dutifully admired Teddy’s work. He rather hoped Harry hadn’t heard the odd comment of the elderly man, but the way he looked at Draco, he didn’t think he was that lucky.

* * *

Much later, when they were driving back towards town, the sun was already setting, they were stuffed on excellent grilled fish, and the kids had fallen asleep in the backseat, Draco asked something he hadn’t managed to figure out.

"Why do you help to prep the fish but don't go fishing? I think you were the only one who didn't fish and came to help."

“To be honest, I find fishing incredibly boring. I don’t know what’s supposed to be relaxing about it, doesn’t work for me at all. I’ve learned how to fish, but I prefer not to do it. But the fires and the fish belong to the tradition of this day just like anything else, and the men who do go fishing do their best to catch enough for all of us, and you’ve seen how large the crowd is. I don’t think it’s fair to leave all the work to them and as I do know how to do it, I pinch in.”

Harry shrugged like it was no big deal, but Draco was reminded of the young boy who had never handed off the responsibility to anything to somebody else, no matter how overwhelming things had looked. It was odd how the big characteristics of a person could show off in the small things as well.

“I’m not sure I could ever learn to do this, but I enjoyed the results very much. I actually enjoyed the whole day very much, more than I expected.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

They spent the rest of the drive mostly in silence, both exhausted from the long day.

Julia barely managed to wake up when they dropped her off, and nothing could rouse Teddy when they reached Harry's house. Draco placed all their things in the entryway and held the door open for Harry when he carried Teddy inside from the car.

"Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, Draco. Hey, are you coming to the pie tasting with us tomorrow? Teddy would be delighted."

“Nothing I’d rather do, Harry. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Awesome! Night!”

Draco pulled the door closed and headed up to the loft where he promptly dropped onto his bed face first with a groan.

“My life could be so much less complicated without Harry Potter in it. Boring, but decidedly less complicated.”


	5. Chapter 5

It was now Thursday evening, and Harry was holding on admirably, at least by his own standards. He hadn't made a fool of himself, nor yelled at anyone in frustration, and that would just have to do.

What had he been thinking, inviting Draco to join them at the lake the weekend before? The answer was, of course, that he had a terrible time denying Teddy anything, but especially family and friends. Andromeda had pointed out early on that Harry had a habit of fulfilling Teddy's every wish as a result of his own neglectful childhood, but that this wouldn't serve either of them in the long run. Harry had understood and found a healthy balance that seemed to work well for them, but he never wanted to restrict Teddy's social contacts, never make him feel as lonely as Harry himself had felt as a kid, so he supported all his efforts on that front, and not being allowed to participate in activities or to meet his friends was a punishment reserved for severe cases.

But as a byproduct in this particular case, Harry had punished himself in the most delicious way. Malfoy was now Draco, much to Teddy’s delight, and Harry’s dreams were filled with easy smiles, grey eyes full of laughter, and smooth, pale skin over lean muscles.

Keeping things between himself and Draco polite without making a fool of himself was driving Harry nuts.

Draco had made things a little easier on him by being out and about around the town, collecting whatever impressions he needed for his design process. Harry had no real frame of reference because as much as some people called his work a form of art, Harry liked to think that he was just following the forms of the stone and what he saw in nature.

Draco also either cooked for himself or ate out a lot, so they didn’t get to interact all that much. As far as guests went, he was about as unobtrusive as you could ask for. Teddy still took every opportunity he could get to chat with Draco, who handled both his curiosity and his rambling stories with much more patience than Harry had ever expected of him.

Harry had been back in his workshop by Monday, even though it was a holiday as a way to distract himself, and aside from his vivid, tempting dreams, life was rather nice. But Harry knew the tendencies of his life in general and his encounters with Draco in particular, so he was only waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Today had been a warm day, and Harry had indulged Teddy and a few of his friends by setting up the inflatable pool and turning his lawn into an increasingly swamp-like playground. He'd seen Draco arrive towards the end of it and flee straight up to the loft before he could be dragged into the wet mess like had happened to Harry. It was a reaction remarkably similar to Hedwig's, who had taken for the larger trees at the back of the property as soon as she'd seen Harry drag the pool out of the shed.

Harry understood both their reluctance but hadn’t really minded his own involvement too much. It was great fun and one of the many things he hadn’t gotten to experience as a child himself, so he was enjoying them now alongside Teddy whenever he could. But it was exhausting fun.

On the plus side, it had been easy to get Teddy to bed after dinner. He'd, of course, protested that he wasn't tired at all and that he would never be able to go to sleep. Harry had simply allowed him to read as long as he wanted and then rescued the book from dropping to the floor and turned off the light not fifteen minutes later.

He was now sitting on his back porch with a nice bottle of wine, just staring off into the slowly darkening sky, absentmindedly stroking Hedwig’s feathers as she set perched on the armrest of his chair. She would leave for her nightly hunt soon enough.

"Mind if I join you?" Harry had heard Draco's steps approach on the gravel, but the question still surprised him.

"Not at all." He waved at the other chair in that corner of the porch. "Glasses are in the cabinet just inside that door if you want some of the wine." He pointed at the open french doors leading into the living room and watched Draco grab himself one of Harry's decidedly utilitarian wine glasses and also cast a look around the room.

Draco settled into the chair, and Harry poured him some of the wine.

“Hmmm, this isn’t bad at all,” Draco judged after his first sip.

Harry snorted. “Thanks, I guess. You can’t live in France for any amount of time without getting at least a basic appreciation for wine. I’m not paying the price per bottle I’m sure is resting in the cellar of the manor, but I also don’t like complicated wines.”

"You don't have to defend your choices to me, Harry. I've come to understand over the years away from the snobbishness of pureblood upper class just how much of that so-called culture is nothing more than smokescreens. Some luxuries are truly worth it, but I've come to value the honest quality of simple but well-made things. And I'm really enjoying this wine." He swirled the glass for a moment before taking another sip. "It looked like you had a lot of fun earlier with the kids."

"Yeah. I find the chaos easier to bare when I give in to it, at least once I'm done with my work for the day."

“Parenthood suits you,” Draco said and Harry didn’t know a better answer than to shrug. He still felt like he was just muddling through, but then most parents did from what he heard from others that didn’t try to pretend that everything was as perfect as in the TV commercials.

“There’s one thing I’ve been wondering since the first evening, that I didn’t get around to asking because Teddy was chattering on for three people. Why did you originally live in the loft?”

“Oh, that. When the British press came to haunt me in France, I hadn’t finished my apprenticeship, so Laurent, my master there, helped me out without even telling me and contacted an old friend of his who he thought would round out my sculpting skills well and who he knew didn’t have an apprentice at the time. Bernard hadn’t taken another apprentice after his last one finished and moved on, because he was looking to retire and move down to Louisiana to be closer to his siblings and their families. I wasn’t sure what he saw in me or what Laurent had told him about me, but he agreed to take me on to finish my mastery under the condition that I would consider buying him out of his house and business afterwards. As it was nothing more binding than that, I didn’t mind.

"So Teddy and I arrived here with all our stuff in trunks, and Bernard just throws me a set of keys and points me towards the loft. At first, I thought it was just a place to crash until I found a flat to rent, but he was happy to have us here for the long run, and we felt quite at home from the beginning. So we stayed in the small loft until I had earned my mastery and shortly after, Bernard moved south, and we had the whole place to ourselves. It took a bit of an adjustment, and I renovated a few things around the house to make it more ours, but I haven't regretted the step a single day since.

“Teddy still loves the loft as a place to retreat to sometimes. And this April, we filled the whole place with mattresses, pillows and blankets and had one huge sleepover party for his birthday,” Harry finished and wanted to slap himself for rambling. That was certainly more than Draco had wanted to hear.

“Yes, he told me about that when I asked why you kept the place empty,” Draco said with amusement in his voice. “I’m sure a lot of people in a town like this would supplement their income by renting out a place like your loft to tourists.”

"Yeah, many do. But it isn't like I need the money. I don't even need the income from my main job, and I value my privacy more than wealth. I keep the details to myself, but it is no secret around town that I am independently wealthy. Bernard was well-known in the community, so a lot of people took notice when he left and wondered how a young lad like me could afford to buy his place."

“It’s easier to let people see at least a bit of the truth rather than have rumours fly, I’ve learned that lesson as well. It was a totally foreign experience to deal with people who had no idea who I was or who my family was. As much as that was what I came to America for, it still took some getting used to.”

“Tell me about it. Even in my childhood neighbourhood, where everyone did their utmost to ignore me, they still knew exactly who I was. I much prefer this way of living.”

They fell silent for a while, and Harry felt compelled to fill it, preferably with something innocuous. "How are your explorations of the town going?"

"Good, or as good as can be expected. People are always wary of talking to the guy designing a project like this, but being seen with you over the last weekend helped a bit. Thanks to the rumour mill, most people have heard that we've known each other for years or that I'm related to Teddy. Depending on who you're talking to, they either want to confirm what they heard, try and get more details, so they know more than whoever told them originally, or just plain see me less as an outsider. I can work either angle to make them talk to me. Making them share their worries and misgivings gives me plenty of input to consider, so the final design will hopefully find acceptance.

“Your neighbour from across the street flat out asked me if I was your new boyfriend, by the way. Sweet old lady. She invited me for coffee and excellent cookies. She worries that you’re lonely, work too much and don’t go out enough.”

Harry just about managed to not spew the sip of wine he’d just taken all over the porch. “Damn it, Malfoy! You timed that on purpose!”

“Maybe. Your face was totally worth it,” Draco teased. “Anyway, she seemed very okay with your bisexuality, much more than I’ve encountered in most Muggles her age.”

"Yeah. When I came here, I was totally done with hiding or apologising for anything I am, so I was very upfront with people. Turns out if you don't let them shame you for something, they mostly come around. We have our share of bigots, but the overall attitude around town is live and let live. Mrs Darling just likes to meddle with everybody's love life like the true romantic she is. Sorry, if she made you uncomfortable."

"Oh, that's perfectly fine," Draco brushed his apology aside. "She kept her inappropriateness to a minimum. If I had to bet, I would say she's making a few extra bucks writing some Harlequin Desire, or maybe even Dare books."

"You could be right there, but I do not want to know. Thank you very much." Harry shuddered, thinking about his sweet little neighbour in her eighties writing erotica. "Change of topic, please. Have you taken a look at the actual location for the hotel yet?"

"No, and that is something else I wanted to talk to you about. Teddy has touted your knowledge of the area to me more than once, and I overheard him and his friends chatting about an all-day birthday party happening on Saturday. So as I am not at all keen on getting lost in the woods, I was wondering if you might be available to play tour guide for me?"

Harry wanted to sigh. He had hoped that Draco had forgotten about that tidbit, but he should have known that Teddy would talk about it more. His son was awfully proud of how well Harry knew the area compared to people who had lived there all their lives. In theory, he could just say no, but he had planned to use that childfree day for a trip anyway. He needed to gather a new batch of small stones to make the little figurines of animals the tourists liked to buy as souvenirs. The stores he was selling them through were mostly running low, so he wanted to work on a batch the next week. Telling Draco he had other plans and then being caught coming home from the mountains would look incredibly petty and he had no intention to sour his relationship with Draco like that.

“Yeah, no problem. I was going that direction anyway.”

"Really? That's great. I was worried about intruding on your day off." Draco looked so honestly pleased about the prospect of spending the day with him that Harry had to swallow down the stupid hope bubbling up inside of him.

* * *

Throughout Friday, Harry was a nervous mess to the point that he eventually gave up working on the gravestone he'd been commissioned to do. It was intricate work, and he didn't want to make a stupid mistake he'd have to fix in some unsightly way; it was somebody's last mark on earth after all. So he'd taken to cleaning and tidying his shop instead, that always needed doing and he could let his thoughts wander as much as he wanted.

He didn't know where he stood with Draco and as a result had no idea how to act during their trip tomorrow. It was the first time they would spend any considerable time together without a crowd around or Teddy as a buffer. There had been moments at the lake and even during the pie festival, when Harry felt like there was familiarity growing between them, but then, over the last week, he'd barely seen Draco, and he didn't know if that was due to circumstances or by design. Then again, Draco had come to him for help.

Straight men liked to complain how difficult women were to understand, but having dated both genders, Harry didn’t necessarily see that big of a difference and figured it was much more people’s feelings and romantic expectations that got in the way.

He was pouring himself a fresh cup of tea in the kitchen to take back to his workshop when he heard the fireplace in the living room activate, so he went there instead and found Hermione’s head floating in the flames.

"Hi, Mione!"

“Harry, you’re still in one piece, that’s good. I was starting to get worried.”

“Why would you be worried?” Harry frowned in confusion as he settled down on the rug.

“Because you didn’t call me over the weekend, as you normally do. First weekend of the month?” Hermione sounded exasperated.

“Oh, sorry. I kinda forgot.” Harry felt bad, because they always talked at least once a month and had agreed on a time for it, so it wouldn’t get shuffled aside by life and the time difference between them. It was what kept their friendship strong even over the distance, along with letters - much more lengthy on Hermione’s side but Harry made an effort as well - and regular visits.

“That’s not really like you. Did something happen?”

“No. I mean, yes, sort of.”

“Clear as mud, Harry James. What’s going on?”

“Malfoy is here.”

“Malfoy? And what do you mean with ‘here’?”

"Well, he came to Canmore for a work thing and Teddy spotted him upon arrival. Didn't know who he was, of course, just that it was a wizard and he sounded British. I went to say hello, and Malfoy mentioned that he couldn't find a place to stay because everywhere is full, so Teddy kinda offered him our loft and how could I say no to him wanting a chance to get to know his cousin he'd never met before? So he's been staying in the loft for the last week or so."

“Oh, Harry. Are you alright?”

“Yes?”

"That's a no then," Hermione said without a doubt, and Harry hated her ability to read him so easily even through a floo fire conversation. "How is he these days? We stayed in touch for a while, but that teetered out when we both got busy with our studies. Neville sometimes mentions him but only in passing."

“He’s doing well. Sounds like he’s becoming quite successful as an architect and he seems to have settled in well with Muggle life, something I truly never expected, but I think he actually enjoys it.”

"That's good. And how are the two of you doing? I mean, you have a long history of animosity, to say the least, and a rather short period of being civil before he left Britain."

“He’s… nice, I guess. Quite pleasant to be around. He’s busy with work stuff most of the time, but he joined us at the lake and for the pie festival last weekend. Draco’s doing really well with all of Teddy’s questions.”

“It’s Draco now, is it?”

Harry bit his lip. “Yeah, Teddy insisted on first names.”

“I would say that you can’t use your son as an excuse for everything, but I can just see how that argument went down. Now, how are you really doing with all that? I know you thought I only wanted to annoy you talking about your obsession with Malfoy, but there was always something between you two. And looking at your dating history…”

“He fits my type, yeah, trust me, I noticed.” Harry scrubbed his hands over his face. “Even in my fantasies, I could always put his arrogant git tendencies as a spacer between us. But now, he’s here, and he’s all patient and attentive with Teddy, and he’s pleasant and funny to talk to, and he finds sweet, inappropriate Mrs Darling charming, and damn his perfect arse in those jeans! It’s killing me!”

Hermione was failing miserably at suppressing her laughter.

"It's not actually funny, you know," Harry groused.

“Sorry, but it kinda is.” She took a deep breath to sober up. “Have you thought about just taking him to bed? You know, get it out of your system.”

“Mione! I can’t believe you of all people would suggest something like that. Besides, I don’t know if he’s even into men.”

“Then you must be purposefully ignoring your gaydar. I know for a fact through Neville and some things he asked me about when he first moved to America, that Draco hasn’t been with a woman in any form, since he got a chance to dump Parkinson, and he only tolerated her because of his father’s expectations.”

Harry dropped backwards with a groan. "Don't tell me things like that! I'm already going crazy." He pushed himself up again. "But seriously, I don't think I could do what you suggested. Between his connection to Teddy and my long-standing obsession with him that you like to keep me aware of, I think I'd only be making things worse. But damn it, now that'll be all I can think about tomorrow."

“What happens tomorrow?”

“He asked me to show him the site where the new hotel he’s designing will be built. Apparently, Teddy wouldn’t stop talking about how well I know the area.”

“The perils of having a son that’s proud of you,” Hermione said with a fond smile.

“Yeah, I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

“So what’s so bad about taking him into the woods?”

“Have you met me? Have you seen me with people I’m attracted to? It’s almost like you don’t know me at all, Mione. He’ll either think I hate him by the end of the day, or I’ll have made a complete and utter fool out of myself, and then he’ll be back to making fun of me. It’s going to be a disaster.” Harry buried his face in his hands.

"No, it won't," Hermione said decisively. "Stop creating self-fulfilling prophecies, Harry. Just be yourself, it seems to have worked well enough so far, or he wouldn't want to spend the day with you. And you don't have to hold back with him. He's not a Muggle you have to hide magic from, he's been through the war and knows your role in it up close and personal and clearly neither fawns over you nor can't deal with it. Just relax and be yourself and see where that leads you. If you two don't click, then that's that. I'm not going to try and play matchmaker from across the pond. But don't sabotage your relationship with him, whatever that may turn out to be, by trying to be something you're not."

“That always sounds so easy when you say it.”

“Yes, and you’ve always done best when you followed my instructions, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have. Okay, distract me from my misery by telling me what’s going on with you. Maybe that’ll help me freak out less.”


	6. Chapter 6

Cancelling his alarm charm with a vicious flick of his fingers, Draco wondered if asking Harry to play tour guide for him had been a stupid idea. How could anybody get up this early voluntarily on a Saturday?

There was nothing for it, he had agreed to Harry's suggestion about when they should leave, and that meant he needed to get showered and dressed. At least Harry had promised to have breakfast cooked for them.

Half an hour later, he knocked on the frame of the open back door to the kitchen.

“Good morning. That smells delicious!”

Hedwig screeched at him the moment he stepped through the door.

“Morning, Draco, come on in. It’s nothing fancy, just a good ol’ full English. There’s tea on the counter or do you prefer coffee?” Harry asked, sounding disgustingly awake.

“I admit that I was corrupted by coffee, but not with this kind of breakfast, this calls for tea. You know, I always thought your owl was very beautiful, but I don’t think she likes me much.”

"Oh, don't mind Hedwig. She doesn't like anyone who could potentially come between her and bacon. It's nothing personal."

“If you say so.” Draco went over to the pot, poured himself a mug and doctored it with milk and sugar. “Hmmm, that’s proper tea. Who’s your dealer?”

Harry snorted. "Hermione mostly for the English breakfast and Earl Grey. But Neville always sends at least one special blend when he sends a parcel or comes to visit, so I have quite the collection." He used the spatula he was scrambling eggs with to gesture at a cabinet that had lots of colourful boxes of tea behind its glass doors.

Draco was pulled from his quiet and somewhat sleepy contemplation of tea while sipping the one in his hand by Harry calling loudly for his son. He hoped the other man hadn’t seen him flinch.

“Teddy! Breakfast is ready!”

Small feet came running down the stairs and landed with a thud at the bottom. A moment later, Teddy came barging into the kitchen and dropped into a chair.

“What have I told you about running in the house?” Harry asked sternly. Draco had to hide a snigger behind another sip of tea, as Harry looked somewhat of a cliché, half turned from the stove, a kitchen towel over one shoulder, one hand braced on the counter and the other on his hip, that one still holding the spatula.

"No running in the house. Sorry, Dad, I'm just so excited about today! Morning, Draco!" The attempt at distraction was blatant, and Draco cast a quick glance to Harry to see if he was okay with it before settling into his own seat.

“Good morning, Teddy. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, I dreamt of dragons! It was so cool!”

After that, Teddy kept up the conversation through most of the meal, which allowed Draco to enjoy the excellent food.

Afterwards, Harry sent Teddy upstairs to make sure he had everything packed he would need for the day, and Draco helped with the dishes, despite Harry’s protests.

“Stop being so stubborn,” Draco told him. “You already did all the prep and cooking. The least I can do is help with cleanup. You’re pretty good in the kitchen, I admit I hadn’t expected that.”

Harry shrugged. “I got a lot of early practise and later found I rather like cooking my own meals.”

Draco got the impression that there was somehow more to that statement, but they were not close enough for him to ask. They fell into a rhythm with odd ease, and the domesticity of it was rather nice - not something Draco had ever enjoyed in the past.

As it turned out, Harry had prepped them lunch to take along, and they divided that and the bottled water up between the backpacks they were taking. Teddy was eager to get to his friend's place, and so they were soon all in Harry's car. The drive to Teddy's friend didn't take long at all and Draco waited in the car as Harry chatted with some of the other parents for a few moments. He tried to ignore the occasional inquisitive look thrown his way, as he had no clue what that was about.

The drive out of town was long enough for the silence between them to become awkward.

Draco had hoped this trip might give them a chance to get even more friendly with one another, for Teddy if no other reason. But Harry seemed lost in his own thoughts about something and barely acknowledged Draco, so Draco eventually pulled out his sketchbook and worked on a few ideas for design elements he might incorporate in the hotel.

* * *

Harry ignored all the signs for parking spots, even though they must have reached the area from where they could hike to the place for the new hotel, but Draco kept his mouth shut. Asking someone for help due to their knowledge of the area and then questioning their decisions from the start wasn't the thing to do.

They eventually stopped on a gravel-covered spot beside a small, fenced-in area with the logo of the park rangers attached to the gate.

“The rangers don’t mind if the locals park here on the weekends when they don’t normally need the equipment stored in there. As long as we don’t block the gates or road that is,” Harry explained before he got out of the car.

They shouldered their backpacks and made their way deeper into the forest. Harry soon turned them away from the road - if you wanted to call the stretch of compacted dirt free of vegetation that - and chose a narrow path instead. It didn’t take long for their walk to turn into a proper hike, but Draco had expected that and he trusted Harry, who never hesitated where to place his steps.

The narrow path came onto a wider, more tourist-friendly one and they followed that for a bit before turning onto another small path that was so hidden in the undergrowth, that Draco would have missed it. By that point, he was fairly sure he wouldn't find back to civilisation without magic.

“I hadn’t realised the new hotel was that deep into the wilderness,” he commented as they climbed over a small section of rocks.

“It isn’t, not really,” Harry said. “It’s close to another access road, but reaching that is almost another hour of driving.”

“Oh, so you’re dragging me through the forest to save some petrol and torture me in the process, is that how it is?”

"Maybe?" Harry laughed at Draco's appalled expression. "No, I'm not torturing you because I'm cheap. You said you wanted to get to know the area better, and that includes the nature around here, the thing most people are worried about when it comes to new hotels and more tourism and the likes. And the spot they've chosen for the hotel looks best approaching from this side. I promise this will give you the most beautiful, most inspiring first look you can get."

"I'll hold you to that, Potter," Draco said and jumped down from the last rock he was on. If he was honest, he rather enjoyed their track through nature. The temperatures were going up, but it was still pleasant among the ancient trees and the shade they cast. Walking behind Harry and watching the play of his muscles under his clothes totally didn't hurt.

“Besides,” Harry continued oblivious to Draco’s train of thought, “the rocks we’re passing on this route have some rather interesting patterns and colouring, so I can pick some of the smaller ones up for the shop on our way back.”

“Is that even allowed?”

"Yeah, as long as you don't overdo it and only take loose ones. You know, I actually advertise where the stones come from, that I make all those figurines with. That would be incredibly stupid if I were obtaining them illegally."

"Right, hadn't thought of that." Draco wanted to smack himself, but that would hardly make him look any better. "On the risk of sounding like a petulant child on a road trip, how much longer until we get there?"

“We’re pretty close, maybe another 20 or 30 minutes? But if you need a break, we can sit down and have some water.”

“You know, that sounds marvellous.” Draco promptly dropped onto a log that had fallen a long time ago and been left there.

"Sorry, I've gotten so used to this, that I often forget how exhausting it can be if you aren't. Hermione keeps yelling at me about this every time we come out here." Harry settled down beside him, and they both drank from their water bottles in silence.

Draco let his eyes wander over the area in front of them, where the ground was gently sloping downwards. He got the feeling that they had made it quite a bit higher than the level they parked on, but he had hardly noticed with the way the paths were running across the slope. The sunlight was filtering down through the leaves high above them and cast everything into a soft glow.

“This is really pretty. It’s funny how every forest can have such a different character, even if they look similar on first glance.”

“Yeah. I’m real glad this has nothing in common with the forbidden forest. I don’t think I could ever feel at home here if it did.”

“No, I wouldn’t either. They’re looking to clean it up now. Get all the dangerous creatures out there and find new homes for them, cleanse its magic and hopefully make it safe for students again to explore at least some of it and during day time. My mother is on one of the charity boards and told me about it.”

“Yeah, Neville mentioned it as well. He and Sprout would have to cultivate some plants that used to be plentiful there for some of the species they wanna bring back to have a stable food source.”

“Makes you wonder when and how it was turned away from its original nature to what we experienced.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of darkness lingering in the ground there. Now that I’ve experienced what this healthy forest feels like, I can tell the difference even just from memory. Ready to move on?”

“Lead on, MacDuff.” Draco tried to lighten the mood. Neither of them had particularly good memories of the forbidden forest, and he didn’t want that hanging over their day.

Harry just chuckled and shouldered his backpack with a practised move before starting up the path again, leaving Draco to scramble behind.

“What’s up, Malfoy? Do you need an extra invitation?”

"Haha, hilarious, Potter. Not all of us are professional mountaineers."

“Times are wasting!” Harry singsonged as he walked around the next bend, but he slowed down to let Draco catch up with him.

It was roughly half an hour later that the terrain started to change and drop more steeply.

“There it is,” Harry said and stopped at a point where the trees opened up to allow an unobstructed view down into a valley.

"Wow." Draco stood beside Harry and took in the view. He'd seen a series of photos of the area already, but Harry had been right, this vantage point revealed the full beauty of it much more. He set down his backpack and pulled out his camera and sketchbook. He started by sketching the whole valley with its picturesque river and waterfall first, then focused on various areas in more detail.

He could see the markers planted on the other side of the river, showing where on the even ground there the hotel would sit and he could almost see it there already before his mind’s eye. That’s why he wanted to come here in person. No picture or topographical map could ever replace actually being in a place himself.

Draco was vaguely aware that Harry was busying himself with something off to the side, but he was too lost in his own head to truly care. When he felt like he had sketched all the views from his current vantage point, he grabbed his camera and got up to get a few shots that would give him a better idea of how the light hit the valley. He could take more when they left later to see how it changed throughout the day. He moved around to get the best angles for the shots he wanted, not paying any attention to where he put his feet until suddenly, there was no solid ground under him.

He was desperately reaching for something to hold on to, feeling the sensation of falling already as he lost his balance when a steady hand gripped his upper arm and hauled him back.

“Hey there. Maybe you should look at the world not only through your viewfinder whenever you move. Or you could have told me that you needed a leash, I’m sure I could have found something,” Harry said with much more calm and amusement in his voice than Draco was feeling.

“Kinky, Potter? Never would have pegged you that sort. Also didn’t notice you eating a clown for breakfast.” He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All joking aside, thanks, man. That was damn close.”

Harry shrugged it off. “I noticed you were precariously close to the edge and kept an eye on you. Teddy would be very disappointed if you got hurt on my watch. Besides, you’re too pretty to die in a fall like that.” He clapped Draco on the shoulder and walked over to their backpacks.

Draco stared at him for a minute. “You think I’m pretty?”

"I'm not feeding your ego, Draco. Come over here and gather your stuff so we can get down there. You've clearly exhausted the shots you can take up here risk-free, and I want stones from the riverbed."

Draco wasn't about to argue Harry's point, but the fact that he hadn't denied the pretty part was repeating over and over in his head.

* * *

They resumed their respective tasks down in the valley after having a lunch break, but Draco paid a lot more attention to his immediate surroundings. Just because it didn’t go down far anymore didn’t mean that he wanted to fall on his butt in front of Harry - or at all.

But getting less lost in his work also meant that he was much more aware of Harry, and that was almost more distracting.

For one, Draco noticed how connected Harry seemed to be with the land, and that it went far beyond just being familiar with the area. There had been an inkling of something more when they were at the lake, but Draco had dismissed it in the general buzz of the day. But now, here in the quiet of the forest, it was impossible to ignore that Harry's magic felt connected to the land in a way he'd never encountered before.

He’d always been aware of Harry’s magic, even when they had met for the first time at Madam Malkin’s, and before Draco ever knew who he was talking to, Harry’s magical presence had been extraordinary and compelling. He’d never understood how anyone could ignore it but never felt comfortable talking about it either.

And that magical presence had always felt restless and searching in some way. At times Draco had almost thought it was reaching for him, but he'd stamped that feeling down with a vengeance. Now Harry's magic felt much calmer and more settled to Draco, not quite complete, but content. At first, he had attributed that to the little family Harry had built with Teddy, but the change was more prevalent now and here, so it must be something else. Draco loved a good mystery to solve, and Harry Potter had been his favourite mystery since he was eleven years old.

The more pressing issue at the moment was that Harry was crouching down, a lot. And somehow, Draco's camera wandered towards the tempting display his well-fitting jeans made of his butt over and over again.

How was a guy to get any work done like this?

While he was lamenting the distraction, Draco noticed that there had been a rather dramatic change in light and that Harry was no longer looking down for rocks for his work, but up at the sky.

“I think we should head back,” he called over to Draco. “Looks like a storm is brewing.”

“I thought the weather report was good?” Draco asked but headed for their things as well, not about to argue.

“Yeah, but things are difficult to predict in the mountains sometimes. Conditions can change pretty rapidly.” Harry dropped the rocks he had collected into the bottom of his backpack and put the leftovers of his food on top.

“Does nobody ever wonder how you do that without knowledge of expansion and featherlight charms?”

"They just assume that I collect rocks much closer to my car and go back and forth more often. Most people want their world to make sense, and as long as you don't slap them in the face with impossibilities, they find explanations that fit. Come on."

Draco had just managed to pack all his things neatly so nothing would get damaged and hurried after Harry. The wind picked up when they had just made it up to the edge Draco had almost fallen down earlier.

"This isn't good. I don't like this at all," Harry was murmuring under his breath, and Draco focused entirely on keeping up and not taking a stupid stumble.

Rain started to fall around them in large, heavy drops, and the sky darkened like dusk was falling by the minute.

“This way,” Harry said and pulled away some branches to reveal yet another path, Draco would have sworn wasn’t there until that very moment. If there was some sort of magic involved, he absolutely didn’t care if it got them to safety sooner.

The drops of rain turned into buckets, and the wet branches of the undergrowth were slapping and dragging against Draco on both sides, almost as if the forest resented the path they were taking.

When the rain intensified impossibly more, Draco lost any sense of direction, and it was impossible to see his own outstretched hand, let alone Harry.

“Harry?” he tried to call out against the rain and the storm. “Harry?!” Screw manly coolness, he was scared.

Strong fingers curled around his wrist and pulled him along.

“This way! We’re almost there,” Harry yelled over the storm and the first thunder rolling across the sky before he strode forwards again as if he could see exactly where they were going.

Draco wrapped his own fingers around Harry’s wrist, afraid to be left behind again. He was grateful when Harry didn’t let go, but rather squeezed his arm reassuringly and held on.

Out of nowhere, a dark shape appeared before them, and Harry pulled them under a wooden porch that held some of the rain away, but the wind was still throwing it against them. Harry reached up to the top of the doorframe and came back with a set of keys that opened the door. They got inside, and Harry slammed and locked the door behind them, throwing a protective ward against it for good measure.

"Damn, that was harsh," Draco got out and pushed his wet hair out of his face to take a look around. "What is this place?" They were in a simple but solid wooden cabin, furnished with the bare necessities, a kitchen of sorts, and an iron cast furnace.

"Emergency shelter from the rangers. It's locked against animals, but the keys are there for anyone in need to find." Harry had dropped his pack by the door and taken off his shoes and was busy stacking wood in the fireplace before igniting it with his wand. "They keep them stacked with bottled water and shelf-stable food rations, so if this doesn't blow over before dark, were good to stay here until the morning."

Draco looked up from where he was untying his own shoes. “But what about Teddy if we have to stay overnight?”

"He can either stay at his friend's place, or they'll drop him off with Mrs Darling. They know where we went, and it's not the first time I got surprised by bad weather up here, and somebody had to watch him. I made arrangements before it happened as I knew the risk. And he knows we're safe because his watch is one of the magical ones, just with a Muggle layer on top. In theory, I could apparate us home, but that would cause way too many questions and with this type of storm, isn't without risk."

“Yeah, I can feel the magic of the land responding to the storm. What is that? I’ve never felt anything like it.”

"There's a major leyline running underneath these mountains, and the land is saturated with the magic. Not many Magicals are open enough in their own magic to feel that at all, let alone after such a short time."

Harry sounded impressed, and Draco felt his cheeks get warm, so he looked away. He suspected that it had something to do with how he responded to Harry's magic, but he wasn't about to blurt that out.

When he looked up again, Harry had already taken off his shirt and socks and was working on his jeans.

“What… what are you doing?”

"Getting out of my wet clothes. Drying charms weren't made for jeans, and I don't like the feeling of them anyway." Harry continued stripping out of his trousers without a care in the world, then pulled out a clothesline from one wall that attached to the opposite one and hung all his things up, dressed in nothing but slightly damp boxer shorts. "You shouldn't stay in your wet clothes either, even with the fire. Use magic or strip out of them as you prefer, but you'll catch a cold if you stay like this. You'll also drip all over the place."

Harry had walked over to Draco and pulled his soaked t-shirt away from his skin before letting it slap back against his chest. That shook Draco out of his mesmerised stare at Harry’s chest. His skin looked almost golden in the light of the fire.

“Right.” He swallowed and peeled out of his shirt. Harry took it from his hands to wring out the worst of it over the kitchen sink before hanging it up with his own.

Draco turned around to undo his trousers, all too aware of his body’s reaction to having a mostly naked Harry this close and nobody else around. He took his sweet time, trying to will his erection away, but every time he heard Harry move behind him, pictures sprung up in his mind that weren’t helpful at all.

“Hey, everything okay?”

The by now familiar hand landed on his shoulder and gently turned him around. Draco couldn’t resist. He didn’t want to. But he couldn’t look Harry in the eyes either, so he left his eyes fixed on the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

Harry sounded so concerned, but it was only a question of time until he noticed, and then Draco’s fantasies would shatter. How else could this go.

“What-? Oh. Is that…? Draco?”

Harry’s fingers were gentle as they reached under his chin and turned it up, forced Draco to meet Harry’s eyes. Never had he expected to find them full of wonder and hope.

“Is that for me? Because of me?”

"Nobody else here, is there? I most assuredly don't have a storm kink of any kind." Draco wanted to sound flippant, but the words came out way too soft for that.

“Well, if that’s how it is…”

Harry leaned forward, slowly, carefully, giving Draco every chance to pull back. Not that Draco had any interest to do so.

Their lips met in a gentle brush that sparked over Draco's skin like static and broke whatever ban had been on him. His eyes fell closed, and his hands came up around Harry's broad shoulders, pulling him in against Draco's shivering body.

Harry didn’t fight him at all, pressing him the few steps back into the wall behind him and deepening the kiss like he was starving for it.

It was exhilarating, more than anything Draco had ever experienced before. And they were only kissing. His cock was straining against his underwear, and he was hunting for friction through his open hanging flies. He would be embarrassed if he couldn't feel Harry's equally hard cock against his hip.

“Let’s… just…” Harry pulled back long enough to cast a banishing charm on Draco’s lower half.

He heard a thud and slap where his clothes hid the wall in a corner somewhere, but he couldn’t care less. Harry gave his own boxers a rough push until they fell down his legs and he could step out of them, crowding Draco back into the wall again.

Strong, calloused fingers reached for Draco's arse and thighs and lifted him up. He wrapped his legs around Harry's waist and pulled him impossibly closer. His fingers barely found purchase on the damp skin of Harry's shoulders, but he dug them in anyway, not caring if he left scratches as long as Harry didn't make any sounds of complaint.

Harry was rutting against him, rubbing their cocks together between their stomachs like they were still schoolboys and not grown man, but it seemed that neither had the patience for any more finesse.

Draco revelled in Harry's physical strength and the magic that was enveloping them as they chased their climaxes. Harry's lips were exploring his shoulders and neck, and Draco let his head fall back against the wall, giving Harry access to his pulse point. He buried one hand in Harry's hair to hold him there, while his hips thrust against Harry's increasingly fast.

As Draco felt himself toppling over the cliff of his climax, he pulled Harry away enough to lock their lips back together, muffling his scream of completion in Harry’s mouth.

Harry followed him over the edge just moments later, mixing his cum with Draco’s on both their stomachs. Somehow, he managed to hold them both up against the wall, which Draco was incredibly grateful for, as he was sure his own legs would buckle under him if he tried to put any weight on them right now.

They were both breathing heavily for a long while, pressing sloppy kisses into whatever skin was conveniently close.

Eventually, Harry let Draco’s legs down carefully and held on to him until he nodded that he was okay to stand on his own. Well, with the convenient help of the wall.

Harry vanished for a moment and returned with a wet washcloth and some towels that he used to clean up the two of them. Draco hummed at the warm cloth was gently stroked over him, vaguely acknowledging that Harry must have managed the mental focus to warm that up with magic. But that was about as far as his thoughts went. He was floating on afterglow, and the exhaustion and excitement of the day were quickly catching up with him.

“Come here,” Harry murmured in his ear and gently pulled on his hand.

Draco followed wherever he was led, seeing out of the corner of his eye how his clothes arranged themselves on the line. A mattress in a simple wooden frame slipped out from under the bed and rolled over to the fireplace as pillows and blankets gathered on top of it.

Harry prodded him down onto the makeshift bed. Draco didn’t want to let him go and pulled on his arm.

“Just let me get to the other side, Draco,” Harry chuckled. “Trust me, I want a nap as well.”

“Oh, okay.”

The mattress dipped behind him, and Harry spooned up behind him, pulling the blankets over them both.

“This okay?”

“Very okay,” Draco managed to answer before pulling the hand resting on his stomach up to his chest and falling asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

When he woke up again, they had changed positions.

Harry was on his back, and Draco was snuggled into his side, his head resting on Harry’s chest, one leg thrown over Harry’s and a strong arm slung around his shoulders.

The fire was still going strong, and it was quite warm in the cabin by now, so they had pushed the blankets aside at one point during their nap, which couldn't have been too long, as the storm was still raging outside.

But in here, Draco felt oddly save.

The position they were in gave him a prime opportunity to have a good look at Harry in all his glory, something he'd been too distracted and horny to enjoy earlier. To be honest, he was horny now as well, his half-hard cock pressing into Harry's thigh.

The view didn't temper his arousal at all. Harry had surely grown into a man since they left school. His body spoke of the work he did and the strength it gave him, something Draco loved in his partners. His tanned skin made a lovely contrast to Draco's own and Harry's cock… that was everything Draco could ask for. He wouldn't quite describe him as hung like a horse - he'd never really understood the appeal of that phrase anyway. But Harry was definitely above average in both length and thickness and most importantly, in their current situation, half-hard as well.

This was something Draco could work with.

He sat up and slipped across Harry's thighs, then wrapped his fingers around Harry's cock and began to slowly stroke it to a full erection. He could see the signs of Harry waking up already, and on a different occasion, he would like to drive him out of his mind with a blowjob. But right now, he had different plans.

“Well, hello there,” Harry said with his voice still husky from sleep as his eyes blinked open. “Somebody woke up with renewed energy it seems.”

“Yeah. I feel like I didn’t get all I could from this earlier.”

“And what is it exactly you’d like to get, Mr Malfoy?”

“Your beautiful, large cock in my arse, of course, Mr Potter. More precisely, I want to take a ride on it.” Draco added a little twist to the lazy ministrations he was giving Harry’s cock, every time he reached the head. Harry rewarded him with a moan.

“Well, be my guest. Far be it from me to stop you from taking what you’re due.”

Draco leaned forward to kiss Harry. The hunger and desperation of their earlier coupling were replaced by more lingering mutual exploration as their tongues tangled back and forth.

“You want my fingers first?” Harry asked in a moment they parted shortly for breath.

"No, I want to slowly stretch myself on your cock." Draco emphasised his words by grinding his butt down against Harry's erection.

Harry pushed him back slightly so he could look him in the eyes. “Draco, not to sound arrogant, but I’m not exactly small.”

“So I noticed. I guess this is the point where I admit to being a bit of a size queen. I know what I can take, trust me. The standard prep spell will do nicely.” He tried to slip off of Harry’s lap but was held back by hands gripping onto his hips.

“Hey, where are you going? I’m sorry if I insulted you, I’d just never want to hurt anyone during sex.”

“I’m not mad. And I appreciate you being considerate about your… let’s call it physical impact, shall we. No, I was just going to grab my wand from my jeans, I can’t cast the prep spell without it.”

“We don’t need a wand for that,” Harry said with renewed cockiness.

His right hand slipped around to the small of Draco's back and then downwards until the tip of his index finger pressed against the edge of Draco's hole. Harry held his gaze and hissed out a few syllables. Magic rushed from his finger deep into Draco, feeling familiar but with a foreign touch to it, more so than when other partners had cast that spell on Draco. It also reached deeper than Draco had ever experienced before and the pleasure of it gave him goosebumps. The spell tingled on its way in, cleaning him out, then felt smooth on its way back out again as Draco knew it to leave behind lubrication. As the spell finished its job, Draco felt the muscles of his entrance loosen just enough to avoid injuries.

“Wandless parselmagic?” he managed to croak.

“Yeah. This okay?” Harry looked suddenly uncertain and shy.

"Hell yes. Perfect. This parsel thing is really hot, and your magic feels damn good. Wanna give me a hand?"

Harry reached further down and positioned his own cock as Draco lifted up. The head slipped into Draco's entrance easily, and he started to slowly move his hips up and down, sinking deeper to take more and more of Harry's cock in increments.

Draco kept himself fit and paid particular attention to his legs for just this purpose. He adored taking a cock like this and made sure his thigh muscles wouldn't spoil his fun. Harry, ever the gentleman, was supporting him with his hands holding first his hips but then moving down to grip his cheeks.

“You look gorgeous like this.”

"You're not too bad yourself. I like the look of you on your back, under me, letting me do what I want. But you were equally hot earlier when you took charge and used your strength to put me exactly where you wanted. I doubt I could get bored with you."

"We certainly never grew bored with one another in the past. Gosh, you're killing me down here, you know that?"

“Impatient?” Draco asked and rose up almost all the way, holding just the head inside his arse and using his muscles to tease Harry.

"Yessss!" Harry almost slipped back into parsel there. "I want in you so badly, but you wanted to take a ride, so you get to call the shots here."

"Damn, that's sexy." Draco leaned forward carefully to kiss Harry. "You're lucky that I want to feel all of your cock inside of me just as much." He sat up again and with a few purposeful moves sank all the way down. They both groaned as he settled against Harry's groin and he stayed there just rocking back and forth for a moment. "So good. So full.

I'm looking forward to bending over something and letting you pound my arse all you want. You'll have to wait on me hand and foot afterwards because I doubt I'll be able to walk, but I'm sure it'll be glorious." He rose up once and sank down before resuming his rocking motion again.

“Killing me, Draco, for real! I should have known that you’re all kinds of evil in bed.”

“Yeah. And you like it.”

"Damn right." Harry got a smirk on his face. "What about my poor, lately unfucked arse? Are you an exclusive bottom, or will you give it to me as well? Can I get some of that pretty prick you're sporting?"

Draco groaned and had to pinch the base of said prick to control his reaction to that mental image. "Damn. I had not expected that. And of course, I'd want to fuck you. Who wouldn't? Seriously, have you looked at your arse in a mirror? You could use it as a model for your own, less business appropriate work and make the renaissance masters envious!"

“Good to know,” Harry said and thrust up, reaching even deeper into Draco than he already was. “Less talking. Get on with the fucking, or I’ll do it.” There was a touch of the old challenge in his tone, but where Draco had always bristled in reaction to it in the past, he felt encouraged by it now.

He rode Harry in earnest, easily finding the angle that put the most delicious pressure on his prostate. It was perfect, and the rest of the world fell away, time no longer mattered as his perception was entirely focused on just the two of them. It got even better when Harry started to meet him thrust for thrust, and as much as Draco wanted to drag this out, they both soon tumbled over the edge within seconds of one another.

Draco collapsed on Harry's chest. He spared half a thought on maybe settling more to the side so Harry could breathe easier, but that slid away when he was enveloped by Harry's arms and held right where he was.

“Who’s killing whom here? I’m sure I just went to heaven,” he mumbled into the sweaty skin under his lips.

“Do orgasms always make you this poetic?”

“Nope, but you made a mess of my brain cell arrangement. Normal service will resume shortly. A nap might help.”

“We’re all sticky.”

“Don’t care.” And he didn’t so he let himself drop off.

* * *

Harry leaned against the small kitchen counter where pale morning light filtered through a window into the small cabin. He had stoked the fire enough to heat water and made himself some tea, though the stuff the rangers stocked their shelters with wasn't all that great. He added more sugar and creamer to distract from the taste and watched Draco sleep in the messy cocoon of blankets they had created overnight.

How much more complicated could he make his life?

Yesterday had hit him like lightning. Never before had he connected with anyone as instantly. And it went far beyond sex. Not that the sex wasn't awesome; their physical chemistry was great, and Harry could very well see himself becoming addicted to sleeping with Draco.

But more worrisome, he had felt his magic reach out for Draco's, and that spoke of a compatibility that ran much deeper. And if he was honest with himself, the weird hate-crush he'd had for Draco as a schoolboy had recently moved into a full-on crush on the man he'd grown into. A man Harry could all too easily fall in love with.

"Don't do stupid things with your heart, Potter. He has no intentions to stay here and share your small-town idyll with you," he told himself quietly though he suspected it wouldn't do much good.

Draco shifted in a way that spoke of waking up, so Harry fixed a second cup of tea and brought it over to the mattress. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I have tea, though it's not the best stuff."

"Morning, thanks." Draco sat up and took a sip, frowned, but kept drinking anyway. "I had kinda hoped for morning blowjobs, but you look a bit too dressed for that."

"Tempting as it sounds, I'd like to get going. Depending on how the streets look after that storm, it could take us quite a while to get home, and I don't want to worry Teddy more than necessary."

"Yeah, I get it," Draco sighed. "What do we have for breakfast?"

They had raided the cupboards for some chicken soup and crackers after their second nap the evening before when the worst of the storm had passed, but the rain had still been bad, and the night was setting in already. The selection of food was about what one would expect in an emergency shelter.

"The granola bars make a decent foundation for the walk back to the car, and I still have a pack of digestives in my backpack."

"Can't compete with your home-cooked full English, but it'll have to do." Draco smiled and pecked his lips.

They got ready with minimal fuss and tidied up the cabin. Harry stuffed the sheets and towels in his backpack. He'd deliver them back to the ranger's office freshly laundered like the good, helpful citizen that he was when he reported that they had needed to use the shelter and that it required some restocking. He absolutely didn't want anybody else finding the traces of their couplings. He knew the jokes made about tourists who got caught in the line of their rescue, he would be damned if he became another one of those jokes.

The ground was slippery after all that rain, and they had to watch their steps all the way to the car and even use magic in a few places where the path had been washed out too much, but they eventually made it to Harry's car. He wasn't surprised to find Hedwig perched on the side mirror, giving him her most unimpressed look.

“Hey, my girl. Did you come to check on us?”

She screeched in answer and clicked her beak at him a few times.

“I know, and I’m sorry that I worried you. The storm came too fast, but we found a safe shelter. I do know how to watch out for myself without you, you now.”

Hedwig turned her head in a clear gesture of doubt, but after giving him another once-over decided he was doing well enough and took flight again.

"She hates driving in the car, and she'll be home faster this way," Harry explained to Draco.

"Your relationship with your owl as a little odd, but also beautiful. I'll gladly take the car. That walk sure felt shorter yesterday," Draco commented. "But I also wouldn't have been able to even roughly find the way back, so I'm not a good judge of that, to begin with."

“We ended up in a different corner of the forest. Getting us to the cabin involved a bit of help from the magic of the land.”

“I thought that path hadn’t been there before. But I’m not complaining.”

Harry had to focus on driving until they hit the main road back to the town as the sideroads were slippery, littered with branches, and in some spots partially covered in mudslides. Luckily, there was always at least a path wide enough for them to get through, and he was yet again thankful for the four-wheel-drive on his SUV; he got a lot of use out of it.

He made a quick stop when they passed by a ranger station to tell them the condition of the roads they'd taken. While he was there, he also picked up the form to report the use of a shelter and promised to have that back with them within the next days.

Back on an open road, he rested his hand on the gear shift, and it didn't take long for Draco to thread their fingers together.

“This wasn’t quite what I had expected when I asked you to show me the building site of the hotel. But I’m not mad about this development, not at all.”

“Same here.” Harry chuckled.

“Really? You were a bit odd around me at times, so I wasn’t sure you even wanted me around.”

"Even without adding our complicated history, you're gorgeous, and I have a habit of making a fool of myself when I find people attractive. And I didn't want to screw up Teddy's chance to get to know his cousin by making you uncomfortable."

“Wow. If I’d known I could get under your skin by flirting, our Hogwarts years would have looked very different,” Draco joked but turned serious again. “I’ve been rather taken with you as well, you know. I always wanted your attention in some way, and meeting you again now, looking like this… it added a whole new layer to that. Or maybe it just made something more obvious that I couldn’t really acknowledge as a teenager. Who knows.” He pulled Harry’s hand up and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it.

They fell into a comfortable silence, with Harry forcing his concentration on the street as Draco mindlessly played with his fingers. They were maybe 20 minutes away from the town when Harry’s mobile beeped with multiple messages.

There was a rest stop coming up, so he pulled out to see what all he had missed while out of range.

“Everything alright?” Draco asked as Harry read through them.

“Yeah, Teddy texting that he’s staying at his friend’s place and telling us to be careful. The friend’s parents confirming that he’s welcome to stay and that it’s no bother. Mrs Darling telling me that she’s keeping an eye out in case Teddy gets dropped off at home and that he can come to her place. Just that kind of thing.”

"You have a pretty good network, so Teddy is always taken care of. And you are part of other people's network for their kids, or Julia's parents wouldn't have let you take her to the lake last weekend." There was something odd about Draco's tone, and it had Harry looking up from his phone.

“Yeah. As they say, it takes a village to raise a kid. Why?”

“It brings home how much you’ve settled down here. I rarely experience that, because a lot of people our age I meet through work are still very nomadic. I simply hadn’t thought about how that would look for you.”

Harry swallowed because he wasn't sure how Draco would take what he had to say next. "It also brings up something else we should talk about before we pick up Teddy. Draco, I don't… I don't want Teddy to know what's going on between us."

Hurt flashed over Draco’s face before he seemed to shut down. “If you’re ashamed of me-”

"No, I'm not ashamed of you. That's not it at all. It's… Hear me out and let me try to explain," Harry implored and took a deep breath at Draco's curt nod. "I've always been cautious about which of my partners I introduced to Teddy. I've always told him when I was going on a date or seeing someone, and he's always known that I'm sometimes dating women and sometimes men. I've always been open about all that. But I've only introduced romantic partners to him when I thought the relationship had perspective. That perspective doesn't have to be happily ever after, but I don't want to throw people randomly in and out of his life all the time.

"I think that's a reasonable strategy for all single parents, but even more so with Teddy. He yearns for family and connections. And when he likes someone I'm dating, he goes all-in on forming attachments. That's better than when he dislikes someone I'm dating because that was awkward and no, I don't want to talk about it. But when the relationship comes to an end, his heartbreak is even worse than mine, because he's losing both someone he cared for and the idea of his dad being happy. I curse the all-consuming narrative that has even 10-year-olds convinced happiness requires being truly, madly, deeply in love, but there we have it.

"And things would be even worse with you because he already cares about you independent of what kind of relationship you and I have. He's over the moon to have his cousin around and get to know you. He keeps talking about you all the time and is super fascinating by your stories. He's attached to you as a part of his family, and right now, when your job here is done, and you move on to whatever comes next, he'll be sad, and he'll miss you, but he'll get over it, and be happy with letters and family reunions for Christmas.

"But if we tell him that we're dating, or sleeping with one another, he'll form expectations that we have no hope of fulfilling. And when you leave town, you'll break his heart, and his disappointment might damage the relationship between the two of you for years to come. And I would simply much rather sneak around for a while than do that to any of us."

Draco was silent after Harry had ended, but he had allowed Harry to hold his hand the whole time and was rubbing his thumb along Harry’s finger.

"That's much bigger than I ever had to deal with, and I actually have been 'the other man' at one point - not something I was aware of at first and not something I would recommend. Sorry I was so touchy, old habits and all that. But I can see your point. I have no frame of reference how a situation like this affects a child, and I don't want to do anything to hurt Teddy either."

“Thank you, I didn’t think you would.”

Draco looked up at Harry again with a smile on his face. “Having a bit of a secret love affair could be fun.”

“Yeah. Let’s go pick up Teddy.” He almost blurted out something stupid, like that Draco could consider settling down with them.

“Yes, let’s. But one other thing first.”

Before Harry could ask what that other thing was, Draco had pulled him almost out of his seat and was kissing him as if he’d never get to kiss him again. Harry did not need an extra invitation.

They only broke apart when they heard catcalls outside the car and looked up to see a group of seniors gathered beside a minibus giving them thumbs up.

Draco settled back with a self-conscious smile. “People here are odd.”

“Yeah, but the good kind of odd,” Harry said and started the engine again, driving off with a saucy little wave at the seniors who so rudely interrupted them.


	8. Chapter 8

Despite their agreement to keep their relationship under wraps, everything changed after their night in the cabin.

Draco was a much more visible guest, much to Teddy’s delight. He joined them for meals and helped with cooking and dishes, ignoring all of Harry’s protests. Not touching in any telltale way while working hand in hand like this was a constant challenge Harry wasn’t sure they could keep up for long.

Teddy convinced Draco to play card and board games and after learning that Draco knew practically none of the ones Teddy loved, made it his mission to teach him all of them. So it became a habit for the three of them to sit outside on the porch after dinner and play a few rounds of whatever Teddy had picked for the evening.

Once Teddy was safely tucked into bed and asleep, Harry and Draco would snuggle on the extra-wide lounger Harry had bought years ago, talking about everything and nothing, enjoying a glass of wine, and snogging like teenagers.

More often than not, they ended up together in the loft, and the sex only got better. The salt in that particular soup was only that Harry had to go back to his own bed before Teddy woke up. At first, he did it pretty much as soon as the afterglow had passed, but as the days moved on, he grew more and more reluctant to leave Draco at all. Waking up snuggled up with someone you were falling in love with was simply the best feeling ever.

Because, of course, Harry’s heart had done the stupid thing and fallen for Draco - what else had he expected.

Just this morning, Draco had woken him up by swallowing down his cock and proceeding to suck Harry’s brains out through it. He’d been so caught up in the haze of pleasure afterwards that he’d almost forgotten why they had set the alarm so damn early. He’d barely slipped his shoes off inside the kitchen door when Teddy had come shuffling in.

This was a disaster waiting to happen.

It had been raining pretty much the whole day, and Draco had come over in the afternoon, wanting to try out one of the games that took too long to play in the evening. As Harry was watching the two of them set up the board and Teddy explaining the rules to Draco, it occurred to him that Draco was working less and less judging by the hours he was spending with them. Almost as if he didn't want to get done.

He had no clue what to do with that realisation.

"Here, you two, I made you a few healthy snacks." He placed a plate with lots of cut fruit and just a few of Mrs Darling's oatmeal cookies on the table.

“Dad! Do you want to play with us?” Teddy asked excitedly.

“Sorry, Teddy, I have to work some more before I’m done for the day. I just wanted some tea. I made a whole pot if you want some, Draco. It’s on the counter under a warming charm.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Harry barely heard him as he was striding out to his workshop already.

Once there, he dropped down at his workbench and stared into nothing.

He'd wanted to keep a distance between Draco and him and Teddy. He had wanted to handle this fling or whatever it was with as little emotional attachment as possible so that it wouldn't rip his heart out when Draco eventually moved on. How had things become so incredibly domestic?

He slowly sipped his tea and thought about the last week, and in the end, he couldn't find any specific point, any decision that had changed things. It had all been one natural step after the other since they kissed that first time. Maybe it had even started before that. And it all felt inevitable and right in a way none of his relationships ever had. But just as inevitable loomed the day Draco would leave.

Harry tried to get back to the project he was working on but couldn’t focus, so he instead pulled a personal project out of the corner, something he worked on when he needed to find his centre again, that allowed him to let his magic flow and guide his hands, while he let his thoughts wander where they led him.

He got so lost in his work that he completely forgot the time and when his stomach growled too loud to ignore any longer, it was already dark outside.

The house was silent and mostly dark except for a single lamp in the kitchen. On the counter was a note.

_Harry,_

_We came to get you for dinner, but you seemed entirely lost in your work. Teddy said you get like that sometimes and it usually means that you have stuff to think through, so we didn't want to interrupt you. We made lasagna (with vegetables), and there's enough for you in the oven._

_Teddy went to bed with no fuss. I didn’t even have to remind him to brush his teeth._

_Come over to see me if you like, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, but it can wait until tomorrow if you’re tired._

_Love_

_Draco_

_PS: Whatever you were working on looks amazing!_

Harry stared at the word right above Draco’s name, suddenly there, between them, not exactly said, but all the more tangible in the precise, elegant, black, inkpen penmanship.

_Love._ When he was so very much trying to not bring that into the mix.

His stomach growled again, and he grabbed the plate of lasagna from the oven and ate it standing at the counter without tasting much. By the time he had finished the food, he had convinced himself that it had just been an inconsequential choice of phrase, that Draco didn't mean anything by it.

Harry crawled into his own bed that he had barely slept in the last two weeks and felt incredibly lonely.

* * *

Harry had no idea how to act the next day. What’s the protocol when you’ve fallen for the guy you know won’t stay with you, but that you don’t want mad at you because your son likes him so much?

He knew that the result was him appearing broody, but that was at least close to the truth.

Draco claimed he had something to take care off in town that morning and Teddy kept shooting his dad weird looks until Harry couldn’t take it any longer.

“I’m going to visit Kibō today. I haven’t looked in on her in quite a while,” He announced and grabbed his backpack, throwing in all the necessities for a trip into the mountains.

“What’s wrong, Dad?” Teddy asked. “You got into this weird mood all of a sudden yesterday. Has something happened? Did Draco or I say anything?”

“No, Teddy, everything is fine. I’m just a bit restless. And I should check on Kibō. You’re not my only responsibility after all.” He ruffled Teddy’s hair and pressed a kiss onto it.

“I know. Can I come along?”

“Not this time, okay? I need a bit of alone time.”

“Have you talked to Draco? He said he had some possibly fantastic news he wanted to talk to you about.”

"No, it was already late yesterday, and he had to leave for his errands this morning. He can tell me tonight or tomorrow. I'm sure it won't be any less fantastic then. You okay to spend the afternoon here alone or should we ask Mrs Darling if she needs a baking slave?"

“Nah, I’m good. I’m reading a really good book that I want to finish.”

“Okay then. Stay out of trouble, and I should be back in time for dinner.” He pressed another kiss against Teddy’s forehead.

“Okay, Dad. Give Kibō my love.”

* * *

The spot Harry parked at was hidden deep in the forest where nobody would find his car. It had been used by the guardians before him ever since cars had become a regular thing and magic had done her part in obscuring the spot from view, where nature wasn’t doing a perfect job.

The last stretch of the way to the cave was a challenging hike, but yet again, magic did her part to both help the guardian and hide the secret. Where Muggles and even most Magicals would find the stones crumble under their feet, making them slip down again and again, Harry and those very few he might want to bring along found the rocks and roots mould to their feet and lift them up.

It took Harry no time at all to reach the hidden cave Bernard had shown him the day they had discussed the contract for Harry buying the house and workshop. Nothing could have prepared Harry for this kind of fine print, but there had been no way he could turn down the honour and responsibility it presented him with.

_“Hello, beautiful,”_ he hissed as he ducked through the entrance.

_“I am old,”_ came the reply from deeper in the cave where he could make out movement and a faint light.

_“Age had nothing to do with beauty, Kibō.”_ The cave opened up to a larger cavern that was filled by a magical glow that brightened more as the Asian dragon woke up from her slumber. Her long slender body full of scales in every shade of red and orange imaginable coiled and stretched before she settled down with her head on a moss-covered stone near Harry.

_“So you keep saying, my guardian, but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel old. Even your strong magic and all the hibernation in the world can’t keep me alive forever.”_ Her voice was full of acceptance, and Harry knew that she had far outlived her average life span before they ever met.

_“I know, Kibō, I know. But you promised me not to give in until you had no other choice anymore. What would become of the eggs?”_

_“I have no intention of not staying as long as I possibly can. But the question of the eggs and the dragonlings waiting inside of them might have found an answer. Look.”_ She moved her body aside a little, giving Harry a free line of sight to hundreds of dragon eggs.

He had seen them almost every time he came to visit, checked them over with his magic, again and again, to make sure they were still waiting for the right circumstances to hatch. But for the first time ever, he saw some of them glowing.

_“What? Kibō, what’s happening here?”_

_“I thought that was obvious. They are waking up and preparing to hatch. I thought you would have expected as much, seeing as it directly ties back to you. Who’s the lucky one in your life, Harry?”_

_“I- He- This can’t be happening!”_

_"Why ever not? You are most obviously in love with this man, and I can't imagine you choosing someone unworthy of your affection. This is what we have been waiting and hoping for. My journey and quest of over three and a half centuries are coming to an end. It's a miracle, as even I had started to doubt this day would come, despite my name."_ She sounded so pleased, and Harry felt miserable that he would have to crush all her hopes.

_“Can this be stopped? Because this can end in nothing but heartbreak and what would that do to the dragonlings?”_

_“I do not know, but no, this process, once begun, cannot be halted or reversed. Will you tell me your worries? And about this young man you are so sure you will lose?”_

Harry settled in on a rock near the eggs, wanting to be close to them, despite the sense of doom they gave him. _“His name is Draco.”_

Kibō chuckled, and Harry raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Your wizard is called most literally 'dragon'. Don't you think that is some sort of sign and a good one at that?"

_"I… I never thought about it, and I don't have the best experiences with signs of fate, as you know. Anyway, I went to school with Draco, where he was something of my arch-nemesis. And he is Teddy's first cousin once removed. Before I forget, Teddy sends his love."_

_“Please give him my thanks and love in return. I hope to see your son again soon, he is always such a delight.”_

_“He’d love to come, so I’m sure we can manage that. Anyway, the thing with Draco is all a bit complicated.”_

Harry proceeded to tell her the whole story of how Draco had come into town, their fateful encounter with a thunderstorm, and how he had done the totally unreasonable thing of falling for Draco.

_“But as soon as his work here is done, he’ll move on and be gone from Canmore and our lives again, riding into the sunset on his Harley like the ruggedly handsome hero from a road movie.”_

_“Maybe he would enjoy settling down with you here. He clearly has some affection for you and young Teddy,”_ Kibō suggested.

Harry couldn’t help but snort. _"He's been a restless wanderer ever since he left Britain, he said as much himself. The longest he's stayed anywhere was eight months. Eight months!" He threw up his hands. "He couldn't even stick around one place for college; instead, he took remote classes for practically everything and kept driving around the whole continent, working odd jobs as struck his fancy. That doesn't sound much like the settling down type to me."_

_"You're ignoring the possibility that his wandering was, in fact, a search, maybe one he wasn't even aware of himself. You might well be what he has been searching for all along, especially if your friend Hermione is correct and there was always some sort of connection between you. Maybe that connection just needed the right environment to become what it was meant to be."_

_“Where you always this optimistic or did your name somehow bleed into your attitude?”_

Kibō laughed at him, and it resonated around the cavern like the sound of countless tiny bells. _"I chose a name that suited my personality and role when I took this task. If I were not optimistic and hopeful, how could I have waited here, guarding the eggs for this long, without giving it up as futile foolishness? Don't give up on your Draco so quickly, Harry, he might surprise you."_

_"I don't want to hold him back. He has this great career ahead, lots of big architecture offices all over are offering him jobs to design the next sensational building that cracks some record or receives awards. Canmore has nothing to offer him long term, nothing to challenge him and stretch his wings. How can I say I love him and hold him back like that?"_

_“If he loves you as well and chooses to fold his wings in to build a nest, you aren’t holding him back, you’re giving him a place to land.”_

_“I think we’re overtaxing the metaphor a little,”_ Harry tried to deflect.

_“I don’t agree. Have you asked him to stay? Invited him into your life?”_

_“Not in so many words. I mostly asked him to keep our relationship a secret from Teddy to save at least one of us the heartache.”_

_“That’s closer to sabotaging a future with him than building one, Harry. I understand your reasoning, but if that is all you said in that regard, surely you can’t be surprised if he doesn’t feel welcome in your life long term.”_

Harry buried his face in his hands. _“I’m not cut out for this relationship stuff. I always muck it up.”_

_“Well, he’s still here, so nothing is lost. Have you considered telling him about me and the clutches? Explaining to him what ties you to this place and that you can’t follow him elsewhere?”_

_"No, and I wouldn't until he'd made a decision to stay on his own free will. Don't take this the wrong way, but you and the eggs are a huge responsibility. It can feel overwhelming, and like a task, you can't decline. I was already putting down roots here when Bernard asked me to take over as your guardian, and I think that was important. I've had many things thrust upon me in my life, unfathomable tasks that I had to tackle because the alternative was unthinkable. To me, it is just as unthinkable to leave you alone and let all the eggs die. But I can't drag someone else into this who might stay just because the alternative seems impossible to bear. I'm sorry, I know how important this is, how important it is that I find someone to love. But I had all true choices taken away from me far too often to do that to anyone, let alone someone I care about."_

Kibō inclined her head. _"I understand, and I'm sorry I tried to push the issue. Allowing these eggs to hatch has been the sole purpose of my being for so long now, it can become difficult to consider anything besides it. I would never want you to burden your partnership with such guilt."_

_"I know, Kibō. I wish I could make Draco stay, for my sake as much as for yours. The way he makes me feel, the way my magic responds to him, I genuinely think it's him or nobody for me. Now, there's a daunting thought._

_"And there's another thing to consider. As much as Draco might prefer men, I think he will eventually want to provide an heir for his family line. Much like me, he is the last of his family, and they are a proud and wealthy family, both in money and in magic. I can't see him letting all of that fall to nothing. I've blood adopted Teddy, and while the Black magic isn't satisfied, the Potter magic fully accepted him, and that's all I care about. From what I know about the history of the Malfoy's, I don't think anything less than a biological son will do as an heir for Draco. The longer I think about it, the more reasons I see why he will inevitably leave me._

_“There’s always the option of letting Teddy become your guardian as soon as he is old enough. That boy loves so easily and with all his heart, I can’t see him having as difficult a time of it, finding his true love.”_

_“Something tells me it should be you, that you were lead here by fate for this particular purpose. Maybe this is fate’s way to even out all the horrible things you had to accomplish, by making you part of something beautiful and miraculous.”_

_“I hope you’re right, but I’m not normally this lucky.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kibō is Japanese for Hope, at least according to Google Translate.


	9. Chapter 9

Draco came home, hoping that Harry was in a better mood.

He had no idea what had suddenly happened to him, what the retreat meant. Teddy had tried to play it off as normal behaviour that happened every now and then, but the boy was a terrible actor, and his concern had been written all over his face.

Home. As he parked his bike in the garage, he contemplated how for the first time ever, this place, Harry's house, truly felt like home. As a kid, he had always felt like the manor was his home, but as the war progressed, Draco understood that it was indeed only a place where he lived. Voldemort's invasion of the place had been infuriating for many reasons, but he didn't feel as if he had lost his grounding place.

After the war and after his NEWTs, wandering had felt like the right thing to do. But the longer he did it and the more he learned about how people made their homes, the more he had become interested in what home meant to them. That had led him to the conclusion that he had never felt this way about any place he had ever lived or visited.

And now, here he was, feeling at home and maybe even preparing to stay.

If he was even still welcome.

As long as Harry didn’t talk to him, he couldn’t be sure that the fire that had been kindled between them hadn’t been doused again already. His magic insisted that that couldn’t be true, that he was meant to be here, but Draco had rarely ever been welcome anywhere by anybody, so his magic could very well be wrong.

He dropped his stuff at the stairs to the loft and went around the back to the kitchen door. He was about to knock but noticed Teddy curled up on the back porch with a book.

“Hi, Teddy! No adventures today?”

“There are plenty of adventures between the pages, Draco.” He lifted the thick fantasy book for a moment. “Did you get all your errands done?”

“Yeah, everything sorted. Where’s your dad? I wanted to talk to him about something.”

“He made a trip into the mountains. He said he needed some alone time.” Teddy gnawed on his lips and carefully placed his bookmark between the pages before closing the book.

Draco sat down in one of the chairs, waiting for Teddy to say what was so obviously on his mind.

“Did… did you and Dad fight about something? Are you breaking up?”

Draco felt doused in ice water at the question. This was exactly what Harry hadn't wanted, and he immediately felt guilty, that he must have given it away somehow. "What are you talking about?"

"I know that Dad didn't want me to know, that he thinks I'll get my hopes up and all that. But you two are terrible at keeping a secret, and I know what Dad looks like when he's in love. You don't have to lie to me. I'm old enough, and I even know all about how babies are made and stuff."

Draco's mouth ran dry at how Teddy described Harry's feelings. But his heart was doing a happy little tap dance in his chest, the terrible traitor. "I don't want to lie to you, Teddy, and you are right that your dad only kept it a secret because he didn't want you to get hurt. We've started dating in our own, slightly odd way, I guess. We have a complicated past, but I'd like to think we've come to care for one another rather a lot in the last few weeks. But we didn't know if it could go anywhere, because my work means I have to travel all over the place. I've travelled so much that I haven't even had a place to call home for the last 9 years."

“That’s a lot of travelling. Why can’t you just make a home here with us?” Teddy wanted to know.

“Your dad and I haven’t talked about that yet, but I’ve been thinking about it a great deal. I like it here a lot, more than I thought. And I really like you and your dad. But things are more complicated when you are an adult.”

“People always say that, that it’s more complicated and that kids don’t understand. I don’t think I wanna grow up at all if things get that complicated just because you’re older.” Teddy sported a cute little frown as he said that. “So did you two fight or something? Is that why Dad has been so odd since yesterday?”

“No, we didn’t fight. I’m about as clueless about what’s going on with him as you are. I wish he would talk to me. I have something big to take care of tonight in Calgary, and I might end up making a decision that affects all of us. I would have liked to hear his opinion on it, but if he doesn’t come home before I have to leave, I’ll just have to do what feels right for me and hope that he’s happy with the outcome as well.”

“What’s happening in Calgary tonight?”

“I’d rather not say, just in case it doesn’t work out.”

Teddy nodded. “No jinxing things, I get it. Do you think you and Dad will be fine?”

“Difficult to say without knowing what’s got his knickers in a twist. Forget I said that. It’s probably not an appropriate phrase to use around a 10-year-old.” That had Teddy giggling. “I sure hope your dad and I will be fine, Teddy, and I’ll do my best to fix whatever went wrong if it’s something I can fix. But even if not, I’ll always be your friend, and we’ll always be family, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. But I want you to stay with us and be a real family. You’d make a great second dad.”

Draco felt slightly overwhelmed at that prospect but tried to keep it under wraps. “Thanks, buddy, that means a lot. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s up with your dad.” He got up and ruffled Teddy’s hair. “I need to get ready for the thing this evening. You okay on your own?”

“Yeah, I’m not a baby anymore.”

“I know you aren’t. I’ll come by again before I leave.”

Teddy nodded and waved him off, but when Draco looked back from the corner of the house, the boy was still staring down at his closed book, looking miserable. It made Draco's heart ache and wanting to fix the world for Teddy. He cursed at Harry in his head for retreating and running off instead of talking about whatever was going on in his mind. Draco could only hope that what he was about to do wasn't a futile effort.

* * *

Harry pulled into his driveway and noted that Draco’s bike was parked in the garage.

He wasn’t sure if he was glad about the chance to talk to him or disappointed about not having more time to sort out his thoughts. But hiding, running and silence didn’t serve any of them.

As he was pulling his backpack out of the backseat, he heard Mrs Darling’s voice behind him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here?” Harry had no idea what her angle was.

"Of course, you do. But when your gentleman was picked up by that fancy car, fancy suit and all, I thought he was meeting you somewhere for a proper date. He does clean up nicely, that one, Harry, you really made a catch there. But now you're here, looking like you've been in the mountains all day. I hope you didn't stand him up when he obviously made such an effort."

He wasn’t about to argue with her about the status of their relationship. There was no convincing the old lady away from things she knew to be true, and she always knew somehow.

“No, Mrs Darling, I didn’t stand Draco up. We had no plans I’m aware of, so if he dressed up for someone, it wasn’t for me.” He could almost taste the bitterness of his voice. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to make dinner for Teddy and me.”

“I took the liberty of inviting Teddy over for some pasta primavera, as I thought you’d be away for the evening,” she called after him.

He threw a thank you over his shoulder and closed the door behind him only to find Teddy sitting on the stairs, glaring at him.

“I had dinner with Mrs Darling.”

“So she said. Do you know where Draco went?”

"He said he had something important to do in Calgary. He dressed all fancy-schmancy for it, too. If you lose him, you're an idiot. I'm going to bed."

Harry was too shocked by the statement to even chastise Teddy for his language. He stood there by the door long after Teddy's door had been slammed shut.

He ended up just making himself some sandwiches and eating them without paying attention. His thoughts were running in circles and were coming to horrible conclusions.

Draco had been dressed up for a date.

Draco had wanted to talk to him about something.

Draco had gone to Calgary, in a fancy car with a driver, so he could drink alcohol.

Draco was moving on. To another place, where life had more to offer to someone like him. To a new chapter that didn’t include curious, nosy kids and getting caught in thunderstorms in the woods. To somebody new, that could give Draco the kind of life he had been born into, that he deserved.

Harry felt empty.

And for all that he wanted Draco to stay, he didn’t feel like he could fight for him. What did he have to offer him in exchange for giving all of that up? All of what the world outside his small town had to offer someone like Draco.

He ended up going to bed early, too, but he lay awake for a long, long time.

He couldn’t remember deciding to wait for Draco to come home, but in the quiet of the night, it was impossible not to hear the car pulling into the driveway.

_"Goodnight, Mr Malfoy. It was a pleasure driving you,"_ an unfamiliar voice said.

_“Thank you, the pleasure was all mine.”_ Draco sounded pleased and satisfied. Harry hated it.

The car drove off into the night, and Harry tried to make out where Draco's steps were headed just based on the sound. He was surprised when he heard Draco use the second key Harry had given him to come into the house through the kitchen.

Steps came quietly up the stairs, bypassing the one that creaked right at the top. Harry knew Draco was just outside his bedroom door, but he didn't make a sound, not even when there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Harry? Are you awake?" The question was quiet, but Harry could understand it easily enough.

“Harry?” Another light knock.

He wanted to say something. Wanted to yell at Draco for coming to him like that after having been on a date with somebody else. But he kept his mouth shut and just continued breathing until the steps moved silently away and down the stairs again.

As the back door was locked again, Harry buried his face in his pillows and pretended not to cry.

* * *

He felt like shit the next morning, and Teddy was still quietly glaring at him, even though Harry had made French toast for breakfast in an attempt to cheer both of them up. It wasn't working on either of them.

Draco knocked on the back door before coming in, looking disgustingly cheerful.

“Good morning, my two favourite men! How are you guys doing this fine morning?”

Teddy shrugged, but at least he gave Draco a weak smile.

Harry couldn’t find that in himself.

“Terrible. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping to talk about some good news with you, but if you are too tired, it can wait.” Draco sounded so genuine that Harry couldn’t stand it.

“Why would you even care, seeing as you’ve already secured yourself a much nicer place to land?” he bit out.

Teddy jumped up and slammed his hands on the table, almost toppling his glass of milk. "Stop being such an arse to Draco! He's done nothing, and you're just suddenly all weird. If you break up and he goes away, it's all your fault, and I hate you!"

He was out of the door long before Harry had fully comprehended the outbreak. He could see Teddy climbing into his treehouse and was about to go after him when Draco’s fingers curled around his wrist and held him back.

“Give him a bit to calm down. I don’t think you could do much good there right now.”

“What would you know about my son and parenting, Draco?” Harry lashed out and tried to tug his arm free, but Draco just held on tighter. “And how dare you tell him that we were dating?”

"I didn't tell him that we are dating, he figured it out on his own. Apparently, both of us make terrible actors. And you are right that I don't know much about parenting, but what I do know is that you are acting on some very wrong assumptions and that Teddy doesn't have the whole picture either, so the two of you talking has little chance of sorting things out. I don't know what had you turn all weird on me the last days, but it seems the smallest problem by comparison. So, for now, you should listen first."

Harry tried to glare Draco into letting him go, but the other man wouldn't budge. Eventually, he caved.

“Well, get on with it then.”

Draco rolled his eyes. "First, I was not on any sort of date last night; however you got that idea."

“Mrs Darling saw you leaving dressed to the ninth and assumed we were going out somewhere nice.”

“That woman. Seriously, I like your neighbour, but she needs to accept that not everything in real life revolves around romance.”

"Than why did you pay a chauffeur service to take you all the way to Calgary if not for a date?" Harry was still hurt, but he had to admit that that hurt was based on a few unproven assumptions.

“I didn’t pay that service, my new employer did.”

“What?”

"I've had plenty of firms court me over the years. Since I think this thing between us has real potential, I called up the firm in Calgary that I liked the best and asked if their offer was still on the table. The senior was more than happy to wine and dine me to have me join up as a junior partner, set to become a full partner after one year. We talked salary and office hours, as I would like the possibility to work from home. While doable enough, I don't fancy a daily commute to Calgary all the time. He was very accommodating. I'm going into the offices on Monday to sign the contract. That is, if the relationship I'm considering settling done for even still exists."

Harry blinked at him dumbfounded.

“You went on a job interview. For a job that would keep you here.”

“Yeah, for the most part. There will always be some travelling for bigger projects, but this would be my home base.”

“It wasn’t a date.” Harry was stuck on that point.

“No, you doofus, it was not a date. My new boss is in his sixties and a proud grandfather. Not that he isn’t totally rocking that silver fox look, but A, that’s not my type, and B, I met his wife, and my experience with women might be limited, but I am nowhere near stupid enough to cross that woman. Formidable and fierce. She could give McGonagall a run for her money, I swear.”

“And you really want to stay here, with me, with us?”

“Merlin help me, but yes, I want to stay here, with you, with Teddy, even with crazy Mrs Darling across the street. Seems what it took to make me settle down was falling in love with a former Chosen One, now single dad and stonemason. Who knew?”

Harry took a deep breath. “You mean that?”

“Which part?”

“The falling in love part.”

“Oh, that.” Draco smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I mean that. You’ve always made me do stupid things, Harry. This might be the stupidest yet. Or the best.”

“Or the best stupid thing.”

“Or that. You wanna tell me what made you go all odd on me and shut me down to the point I was doubting all my current life choices?”

Harry sighed and leaned back against the kitchen counter. All the tension was bleeding out of him, making him feel a little weak in the knees. “I realised how much I’d fallen in love with you.”

“What? That makes absolutely no sense.”

"Yes, it does. That afternoon, when you were playing that board game with Teddy, and I fixed you guys some snacks, it suddenly slapped me in the face just how domestic it had all gotten in such a short time. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to keep our relationship a secret so Teddy wouldn't get the wrong expectations. But I had also hoped that it would help me think of us as something contained, separate from the rest of my life. I think I was just kidding myself that I could somehow not fall head over heels for you. I wanted to guard my heart because I knew that you would inevitably move on, from this job, from Canmore, from me. Because your life could be so much greater out there, so why would you want to stay here. Turns out my heart is even more Gryffindor than the rest of me and did the brave and brash thing of falling in love anyway."

Draco stepped right in front of him and leaned both hands against the counter, boxing Harry in. “So, let me get this straight. You froze me out because you’ve fallen head over heels in love with me and to protect yourself from possible hurt, you did the manly thing of giving me the silent treatment, risking pushing me away and angering your son in the process.”

“It sounds rather idiotic when you put it like that.”

“That’s because it is idiotic, Potter. I’m instating the first new rule of our relationship.”

“We had rules already?”

“The not telling Teddy thing? I’m also insisting that we do better with our relationship rules than we did with that one.” Draco poked Harry in the chest before putting his hand down again.

“Okay, I can agree to that, but what is that new rule supposed to be?”

"From now on, we tell each other what is going on in our heads. No assuming the worst, no trying to silently take one for the team, no hiding how we feel about things. We both have terrible habits, and we will drive each other nuts if we don't talk things out."

“Yeah, okay, that would help.”

“And I’m sleeping in your bed from now on.”

"Will you now?" Harry raised an eyebrow at the statement, not that he was opposed to the idea.

“Yeah, because sleeping in an empty bed suddenly sucks, and that’s your fault. I’ve never been the cuddling type until I met you, so you can suffer the results. Besides, I’ll need the room in the loft to create a studio I can work in or the working from home part won’t get far.”

“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out already.”

“Yes, I mean, I was hoping you’d be okay with those changes. Is it too early to just move in with you? I’ve never done this part of a relationship. I have no clue. Am I being too bossy?”

It was cute how the self-assured Draco from before suddenly vanished and showed some of the insecurity Harry was feeling. It made him laugh.

"Maybe a tad bit bossy, but it's alright in this case because I happen to agree with your plans. But don't make it a habit. And it is early to move in, but I don't care, I want you here. Sleeping in an empty bed sucks big time and letting you walk away last night was one of the most difficult things I've ever done."

“You were awake?”

"Yeah. But I thought if I let you in, I'd get into a screaming match with you, and I didn't want that. God, I almost made such a mess of this." Harry let his head fall back, and Draco's next words were spoken directly onto the skin at his throat, making him shiver.

“I have no clue how to live with someone, be with someone long term. I’m sure I’ll make plenty of mistakes along the way. But I want this. Us. This life. A family. You. You make me want everything, and I’m not even ashamed of being greedy.”

“I want you too,” Harry whispered back and brought his head up so he could look Draco in the eyes. “I want everything with you.”

Draco closed the last inch between them and kissed Harry like nothing else existed in the world. Their arms found their way around shoulders and waists as their lips and tongues danced lazily. There was no heat in the kiss, but the promises of everything and forever.

When they drew apart, it was only to look into each other’s eyes again, not far enough to break the embrace.

“So we’re really doing this?” Harry couldn’t help but ask one last time.

"Yes, we're totally doing this. You caught yourself a dragon, and you're stuck with it."

That made Harry chuckle.

“What? What’s funny about that?”

“Nothing, Draco. I’ll explain it to you later. It requires a little trip. I’m just fine being stuck with you.” He pressed one more kiss against Draco’s lips. “You wanna go see if Teddy has calmed down enough to listen when we tell him that you’re moving in?”

“If not, the news should take care of it quickly enough, I’d think.”

They walked through the garden with their hands entwined.

The hatch on the treehouse was closed, and Harry hadn't expected anything less. This was Teddy's sanctuary that Harry had promised never to invade uninvited.

“Teddy, can I talk to you please?”

“Go away! I don’t want to hear that Draco is leaving!”

Harry and Draco exchanged looks, and then Draco took a turn.

“But we can’t tell you anything else either if you won’t listen to us.”

The hatch was lifted a fraction and Teddy peered out, his eyes widening when he spotted their joined hands. He opened the hatch fully but stayed crouched at the entrance.

“Draco isn’t leaving?”

"No, he isn't leaving. And we might have even better news to deliver if we're allowed to come up," Harry negotiated.

Teddy narrowed his eyes at him and contemplated the possible outcomes. “Okay, you’re allowed up. But if I’m not happy with the news, I get to think up a punishment for you.”

"Fair enough." Harry squeezed Draco's hand before climbing up the ladder he'd secured against the tree when he built the treehouse. He could hear Draco murmuring behind him.

“Let’s hope this holds.”

Harry could have shot something back but chose to ignore it. Anything he might have said would have sounded an awful lot like arguing, however playful, and the last thing he needed was to upset Teddy again.

There wasn't a lot of space in the treehouse, they all just about fit onto the bench along one side, Teddy squeezing in between Harry and Draco.

“Have you two made up?” Teddy asked.

“We weren’t really fighting, but there was a misunderstanding because we didn’t talk about something, and we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Draco explained.

“And are you two done hiding from me?” Teddy challenged.

“Yes, you menace, we’re done hiding, seeing as we were so unsuccessful anyway,” Harry groused playfully. “I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up before we knew if this was going anywhere.”

“I get it, Dad. It was kinda cute. So what even better news do you have than Draco not leaving and you two no longer pretending?”

“What would you say, if Draco were to move in with us?”

That had Teddy sitting up in his seat. “You mean, like properly moving in and staying forever? Like you two sharing a bedroom, and all of us being a family, that kind of moving in?”

"Yes, that kind of moving in," Harry confirmed.

“Properly and forever,” Draco added when Teddy looked at him for reassurance.

The next moment, Draco found himself with his arms full of squealing child. He manfully ignored that he bumped his head against the wall, not at all prepared to catch Teddy’s momentum.

“Yes, yes, YES! That’s the best news ever!” Teddy was yelling. “Awesome!” He threw himself at Harry next. “I love you, Dad! And I love that Draco is staying with us, that’s how it’s supposed to be.” He slipped back down onto the bench and kneaded his fingers in his lap. “I’m sorry about the things I said earlier and last night. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s okay, Teddy. You were hurt and angry, and I understand that. Apology accepted. I’m sorry that you were hurt because I didn’t talk things out properly with Draco, we’ve already promised each other that we will do better on that front in the future.”

“That’s good. Apology accepted. Can I have some more French toast? I didn’t have much appetite earlier.”

“More French toast all around, please, because I came over hoping for breakfast in the first place,” Draco proclaimed, making them all laugh.

They climbed down the ladder and Teddy grabbed one hand of each of them to drag them back to the house.

“Don’t think I’ll do all the cooking in this relationship, Draco.”

"But you do it so much better than me, and you are more of a morning person," Draco whined.

"I might let myself be convinced to take on breakfast duty if you choose the right incentive, but you are not getting out of kitchen duty, you've already proven to be a more than passable cook, Draco dear. Strategic mistake."

“Damn, nothing gets by your dad, does it?” he asked Teddy.

“Well, there are ways to sneak things by him,” Teddy mused. “But it takes years of training.”

“How many years?”

"Many, many years. I still haven't fully mastered it, and I've been practising all my life."

“Guess I’ll just have to settle in for the long haul, then. Good thing I have nowhere better to be.”


	10. Chapter 10

As none of them had slept well the night before, Saturday was dedicated to lazing about. Teddy badgered Harry and Draco into putting the hammock up on the porch, before allowing them to snuggle up on the lounger.

Draco cast a swinging charm on the hammock and Teddy spent most of the day reading. Every so often, he’d pull down the side off the hammock enough to look at the two, seemingly delighted in seeing them together like this.

The first time he caught them kissing, the reaction was the predictable ‘Urgh’, but when Draco looked over to him, he found him smiling from ear to ear.

“Always be careful what you wish for, young man. This is called the honeymoon phase, in which new romantic partners are all lovey-dovey, all the time. You’d better get used to it.”

Harry was shaking against him in silent laughter.

“I’m very happy with the results of my wish. But you better remember to lock the bedroom door. Just in case I forget to knock, you know.” He smiled like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.

Harry could no longer contain his laughter, and Teddy soon joined in.

“I really don’t know what you think is so funny about this. You raised him to be this way, Harry, you should be ashamed of yourself,” Draco mock complained, earning more laughter.

“You should know better than to give him openings like that. He is the son of a marauder, a Potter, a Black, and he had Mrs Darling as a babysitter. What did you expect?”

“You are both terrible, you know that?”

"Yes, but you love us anyway, and we're yours now. No exchanges or returns!" Teddy gleefully told him.

"No returns," Draco agreed with a smile to rival Teddy's. Looking down at Harry in his arms, he pressed another chaste kiss to his lips. Harry's eyelids were drooping, and Draco wanted him to fall asleep and catch up on at least some of what he had missed the night before. He had plans for the night that required Harry to have a healthy bit of energy.

Harry made himself comfortable on Draco’s chest and seemed to have the same idea, so Draco gestured Teddy with a finger at his lips to be quiet and got a firm nod in return, so Draco closed his eyes to doze a little himself.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, they were all sitting around the table, playing a few rounds of Uno.

"I think we should celebrate today. I mean, it's a special occasion, isn't it?" Teddy said out of the blue.

“Yes, I think so, too,” Harry agreed.

“Most definitely,” Draco said. “So what do you think we should do to celebrate?”

“Ordering pizza, making popcorn, and watching Ice Age!”

“Welcome to celebrating with a 10-year-old,” Harry deadpanned. “I still think you are too obsessed with that movie,” he told Teddy.

“Am not!”

"Yes, you are. But it could be worse. So, Draco, do you think you can enjoy a night of pizza, popcorn, and an animated movie with us on the couch?"

“You know what? That sounds amazing.” And Draco meant it. He might have thrown his life into a pretty rapid u-turn, but he was wholeheartedly on board with it.

* * *

Teddy hadn’t quite lasted till the end of the movie and Harry had carried him upstairs with Draco following behind. He stayed at the open door, not wanting to get in the way of something that was clearly well-practised.

Teddy woke up halfway as Harry was pulling up his blanket.

“Draco?”

“I’m here, Teddy, and I’ll be here tomorrow when you wake up. Go to sleep.”

"‘Kay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Teddy." Harry and Draco said at almost the same time, and Harry added a kiss to Teddy's forehead before turning off the bedside lamp.

Draco made just enough room so Harry could close the door behind him and then went about opening the buttons on Harry’s shirt.

"I believe I need to be tucked into bed as well."

“Is that so?” Harry hummed as Draco pressed a kiss against the newly exposed skin. “We still have the detritus downstairs to clear away.”

"None of that can't wait until tomorrow. Everything is locked up, and I turned off the lights when I came upstairs. Tonight is for celebrating, remember."

“Hmmm, and you think we should continue our celebrations in bed?”

“Absolutely, glad you’re catching on so quickly.”

“Well then…” Harry kissed Draco and walked him backwards to his own bedroom at the other end of the hallway.

The moment the door was closed behind them and Harry had turned the key, they both stripped off their clothes, still kissing and getting in each other’s way but they managed to get naked somehow. Harry pushed Draco down on the bed and crawled after him, kissing every bit of skin along the way. If Harry wanted to take the lead that night, Draco was all for it.

Harry took his time, kissing and caressing every square inch of Draco's body, and it felt marvellous. Draco tried to give at least some of it back, on whatever part of Harry he could reach.

Draco felt cherished and was basically floating by the time Harry finally entered him with one slow and steady thrust. This was no longer fucking or just sex, this was lovemaking, unhurried and more intimate than anything Draco had ever experienced. They exchanged kisses and sweet nothings that meant the world, and by the time they toppled over the edge, it was less earth-shattering and more like true and warm completion.

They ended up in the shower together, where washing the other’s back turned into endless embraces and kisses until the water was starting to run cold.

“Come on, let’s get some sleep,” Harry said as he wrapped Draco in a towel. “You can borrow some PJ bottoms from me.”

“Why do I need those? I’d much rather sleep naked and feel you against me.”

“Because I won’t leave our door locked and we’re likely to be woken up in the morning by Teddy. He doesn’t do that often anymore, but I’m sure he’ll be too excited and will want to make sure that you’re actually still here, so I expect an early morning visitor.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. As long as it’s not forever, I can manage. I really prefer to sleep in my birthday suit.”

“Well, it is a very nice birthday suit.” Harry emphasised the words by running his hands down Draco’s chest from behind and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"If you want sleep, you better not start anything." The teasing tone got lost in the yawn at the end, and Draco knew that Harry was right, and they needed their sleep.

He was looking forward to waking up in Harry’s arms, in Harry’s bed for the first of many times.

“Our bed, Draco. If you’re moving in here with me, this is going to be our bed. And I love the sound of that.”

“Did I say that out loud? I guess I’m more tired than I thought. But I like the sound of that as well. And the feel,” he added as he arranged himself on his side, with Harry spooning behind him.

* * *

Harry’s sleepy subconscious, after years of training, registered the opening of his bedroom door and small feet trying to sneak across the hardwood floor. That was the only reason he wasn’t jumping in surprise when Teddy jumped onto the foot end of the mattress with an overly loud “Good morning, Dad and Draco!”

Draco was less practised and lucky and startled awake. “What? Who?”

Teddy was rolling over with laughter, and Harry just pulled Draco back down into his arms.

“Good morning. Hurricane Teddy has landed. Or maybe he’s an earthquake, one never knows.”

“Oh God, I’m not made for this,” Draco groaned, then stretched in Harry’s arms like a cat in the sun.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Yes, I’ll teach you!” Teddy sounded enthusiastic at the prospect of breaking in yet another adult.

“Please don’t. One does not have to know and be capable of everything.”

“You’re funny when you wake up,” Teddy said and wiggled in between them, earning himself a poke in the side from Draco, who wasn’t too happy to give up his place.

“Am not. I’m the original Mr Grumpyhat until I had some coffee or tea.”

“I think you’re funny.”

“Harry, I worry about your son’s sense of humour.”

“Frankly, so do I, but I’ve been told that it’ll develop as he ages and become more palatable.”

“Hey! It’s unseemly to talk about someone present as if they weren’t,” Teddy complained.

“Did you hear something?” Draco asked Harry.

“Nah, not a peep. Don’t even know what woke me up. Let’s get back to sleep.”

“Ha ha, you two are real comedians. If you aren’t careful, I’m letting the tickle monster run free.” Teddy was pouting.

“Not the tickle monster! Please, anything, just not the tickle monster!” Harry surrendered theatrically. “What can we do for you this fine morning, Teddy?”

“I wanted to know what we’re doing today. I mean, it’s Sunday, and families do stuff on Sundays, right?”

“Did you have any particular stuff in mind?”

“I thought we could go and visit Kibō today. We have to introduce Draco to her anyway.”

“Who’s Kibō?” Darco asked.

“I guess you could call her an old friend. But the rest is better seen than heard,” Harry hedged. “Teddy is right, introductions are in order. Are you up for another trip into the mountains?”

“I hope it doesn’t go down quite like the last one, but yeah, why not.”

"Yay!" Teddy threw up his hands in celebration before scrambling out of the bed. "I'll put the kettle on for Mr Grumpyhat's drug of choice."

Harry pulled Draco close to him for a proper good morning kiss.

“I didn’t think that our last trip into the woods went that badly.”

“Oh, I’m quite satisfied with the outcome, yes. I’m still not fond of surprise thunderstorms.”

* * *

It had only been two days since he had walked this very path but so much had changed in those short days that it might as well have been a lifetime, as cliché as that might be.

Draco had stopped asking him where exactly they were going and was just walking beside him, their hands entwined, and enjoying the beauty of nature all around them. Harry wondered if he could feel the underlying magic welcoming them as much as Harry could.

Teddy was running ahead of them most of the time, trying to make them hurry, but not succeeding.

When they finally reached the entrance to the cave, Draco eyed it doubtfully.

“This was not what I expected when you said you were introducing me to an old friend. Are you sure this is safe?”

"Of course, it is!" Teddy answered in Harry's place. "Just listen to your magic. Can't you feel it?"

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I’ve never felt anything like this, so I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Trust your instincts, Draco,” Harry suggested.

“They might have gone a bit rusty. I’ve mostly stayed away from magical communities since I came to America, so the last time I was this surrounded by magic was actually at Hogwarts,” Draco admitted.

Harry couldn't help but press a quick kiss against Draco's mouth. Not even he had felt the need to isolate himself from the magical world to that degree. "Then trust me. If this wasn't one hundred per cent safe, would I let Teddy come here?"

“No, of course not.” Draco looked reassured, so Harry ducked into the cave and pulled him along, making his steps slow enough to allow Draco to orient himself in the semi-darkness.

Teddy had run ahead and was already chattering at Kibō by the time they reached the cavern.

_“Hello, Harry,”_ she greeted him. _“I see I understood young Teddy correctly and that your worries about your wizard were unsubstantiated.”_

_“Yes, things worked out much better than expected on that front. Kibō, please meet Draco, my new partner.”_

_“You mean to say your mate, Harry, as that is what he is and always has been. Magic doesn’t lie, not if one has learned to listen.”_

_“Yes, well, give me a while to grow accustomed to that thought, okay?”_

_"Of course, my guardian. The truth doesn't change whether we acknowledge it or not. You might want to close your wizard's mouth though before he catches a moth with it."_

Harry turned to Draco to find that his mouth was indeed hanging open in wonder, so he closed it gently with a finger under his chin.

“Draco, meet Kibō. I am her guardian.”

“I- But- I mean… I think I know what she is, but what I think she is is impossible, and yet…”

“To answer your question, yes she is a Japanese Firewind Dragon.”

"But they died out in the middle of the seventeenth century! There was this horrible illness that nobody ever figured out, and they all died! How is this possible?"

“They didn’t die out, not all of them. They were only presumed to have died out. But Kibō survived and managed to flee from Japan before the illness could come for her, too. She and her guardian flew all the way across the Pacific, following magic’s guidance, until they found the Rockies with their strong, healthy leylines underneath, and this cave to give them shelter.”

_“It is a pleasure to meet you, Draco, mate of my guardian. I have waited for you a long time,”_ Kibō said at that moment.

“She said, that it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Harry translated and left off the rest of her words, blatantly ignoring the nudge she was giving his back about that.

“You can speak parsel with her? Oh, where are my manners? The pleasure of meeting you is all mine, Kibō. It is me a great honour.”

She inclined her head regally in response.

“As you just witnessed, she can understand English just fine, but yes, we mostly talk in parsel. Asian dragons, as you well know, are much more closely related to snakes than lizards and it shows in their language. There are differences, but those are no more than between two dialects of any given language.”

"That's all very fascinating, but I'm still trying to get over the fact that a dragon from a species that supposedly died out over three hundred years ago is right in front of me!"

"It's cool, isn't it?" Teddy asked and distracted Draco's attention away from Kibō for a moment. "But it's also so sad that all the other dragons died and she had to flee from her home and has been all alone ever since."

_“Not all alone, thankfully. There have always been my guardians - and now you as well.”_ She nudged Teddy in the shoulder and made him giggle.

"What did she- Hold on. Teddy, can you understand her?"

“Yeah, of course!” Teddy said proudly.

Draco looked to be floundering again, so Harry tried to fill out the picture.

"Teddy isn't a parselmouth if that's what you're wondering. He can understand Kibō because he is connected to her through me. It's an aspect of the guardian bond, and it'll likely affect you too after a while. Don't worry, there are no other side effects."

“I think I need to sit down and you have to tell me the whole story.”

“I can do that, but before we start, there’s one more thing that you need to see if Kibō agrees.”

Her large body shifted aside until the eggs became visible from their position.

"Oh. My. Goodness. The eggs. There are so many. The Firewinds died during the breeding season, but none of their clutches was ever found. I had a book with lots of tales about dragons all over the world. My grandmother gave it to me, and she would read me stories from it all the time. The one about the Firewinds was one of my favourites because of the unsolved mystery. Are these…"

"All of them, yes. All the eggs from all the clutches from that last season of the Japanese Firewinds." Harry pushed Draco down on one stone and settled himself down on the one right next to it, not at all surprised when Teddy tucked into his side. He loved to hear this story every time, sad as it was. "When all the males had already died, and the females were falling ill with the same symptoms, but Kibō remained free of them, she and her guardian at the time travelled all over Japan in one night, visited all the colonies and nesting grounds and convinced all the other dragons to entrust their clutches to them, to take them far, far away from whatever was killing off the Firewinds in their home country."

Draco turned to Kibō. “Did you lose your mate to that illness?”

“No, she was very young at the time and hadn’t found her mate yet,” Harry answered in her place, knowing the sad story all too well.

“Still, I can’t fathom the loss you suffered. Your actions in the face of such a tragedy were brave and selfless.”

_“I believe it was my destiny. I carried the future of my species to safety. I became their hope. That’s when I chose my name.”_

“Kibō means hope in Japanese,” Harry added after he translated her words for Draco.

“Wow, talking about responsibility. You two make quite the pair in that regard. But I still have so many questions. How come the eggs haven’t hatched in all this time? And not to be indelicate, but I didn’t think that dragons can live this long. And how did Kibō choose new guardians out here?”

"I can answer all of those because I asked pretty much the same questions when I was first introduced to her. The guardians question is easy. When Kibō and her first guardian arrived here, they were welcomed not only by the magic of the land but also the indigenous people who were sensitive to that magic. They took to looking after Kibō, and when her first guardian reached the end of his life, they considered it a great honour that she would choose a new one from their tribe. That's pretty much how it went on until the European settlers came here for the coal and started making a mess of things. The magic kept Kibō safe, but it couldn't do the same for all the native people living on this land.

“But as Firewinds need the bond with a guardian to anchor their magic, Kibō had to make do and found suitable people among the settlers until the honour eventually went to Bernard, my mentor, who passed it on to me.

"All this time, Kibō spent most of her days in a form of hibernation to conserve energy and prolong her life to see her task fulfilled. The magic of the land guides animals into the cave, so she can feed, and there are hot springs in here that provide her with both freshwater and the necessary warmth.

“The eggs are resting in a form of hibernation as well, but that’s a bit different and more complicated.”

“How? This whole story is already so far beyond the imaginable,” Draco said in awe.

"It is a well-kept secret that the dragonlings of Firewinds can only flourish and hatch when there's romantic love in the magic that surrounds them. Normally, that's the love between the parents, that mate for life and both take care of the clutch. But in cases where one or both parents died, it has been reported that the eggs still hatched if the human guardian was truly in love with someone. Sadly, Kibō's guardians appeared all to be cursed to be unlucky in love. That's what I did on Friday, by the way. I came here to tell her that I was yet another in the long row of hopeless cases."

They all chuckled, and Kibō nudged him friendly in the arm.

_“And I told you, you were wrong, didn’t I?”_

_"Yes, you are, as always, the wiser one in our friendship, and I couldn't be happier to have been proven wrong,"_ Harry shot back.

"Anyway, the point is that now that we are in love, those eggs finally have the right magical circumstances to hatch."

“All at once?!” Draco sounded a little panicked, and to be honest, so was Harry at the prospect. He’d never really believed it would happen in his lifetime, so he hadn’t paid this part of the whole situation much thought.

He turned to Kibō for an answer.

_“No, not all at once. Magic will take care of it, as it always has. You’re also not required to raise them, though it would be good if you could come to visit regularly while the dragonlings are around. It’ll help them get familiar with humans. Dragons are very self-sufficient early on. They need more socialisation than physical raising. But they’ll be able to leave and find their own guardians soon enough.”_

“That’s a relief.” Harry translated Kibō’s explanation for Draco, who relaxed visibly in his seat.

“Awww, I wouldn’t mind getting to help raise all the little dragonlings,” Teddy piped in. “But I at least want to come and play with them as often as we can. Learning how to play properly is an important skill.”

“I’m sure they’ll love playing with you, Teddy. We’ll make lots of time to spend with the little dragonlings,” Harry reassured him. He turned to Kibō again. “When do you think the first ones will hatch? The eggs are already glowing.”

_“It’ll take some time. They’ve slept so very long. I don’t think we’ll have any youngsters before next spring.”_

"Good, we can work with next spring." It would give him time to find all the literature available on rearing dragons in general and Firewinds in particular. Harry resolutely told himself he could do this. He had managed to do a pretty decent job with Teddy, after all, hadn't he?

"Only you, Harry." Draco was shaking his head in disbelief. "I thought I had accounted for the Potter factor, but no. You go and end up the guardian of the only Japanese Firewind dragon still alive, and you're going to be godfather to a whole new generation of an entire species. Only you."

“And you, Draco. I could not have done the godfather thing if it wasn’t for you. Only mutual love can help these dragonlings along,” Harry pointed out helpfully.

“Oh great, it’s infectious. Anything else while I rearrange my understanding of the world?”

“Well…” Teddy actually raised his hand for whatever he had to say. That was always an ominous sign. “There are four new eggs.”

“What?!” Harry almost gave himself whiplash looking at his son. “Are you sure? How can there be new eggs?”

_"It is my gift to you. The morning I left Japan, I knew that I would never have dragonlings of my own. The offspring of my species would be mine to care for, but there was no one left who could give me my own. I've long since made peace with that truth. But that doesn't equal that I cannot produce eggs. Magic has given us the opportunity to do this for our guardians, just once in our lifetime. We were talking about the expectation the world has that you should produce heirs for your family lines, especially as you are both the last of your respective families. An expectation you cannot fulfil because you have fallen in love with another man. Well, now you can."_ She carefully moved four silvery-white eggs to the front of the clutch.

_“These have come from my magic and are filled with potential. When you feel ready, you will pour your combined love into an egg and magic will create your child with it. They will be yours in magic and in body and grow just like every other child would. I will teach you the way of it. This was a gift my kind has always gifted to their most trusted and beloved guardians who could not conceive their own children for one reason or the other. I’m glad I can bestow this gift upon you.”_

“These will become my brothers or sisters?” Teddy asked excitedly.

“That’s… I don’t know…” Draco stammered, searching for words just as much as Harry.

“Hold on. Did you understand that?”

“Yes, funnily enough. At least the gist of it.”

_“Your wizard is a fast learner,”_ Kibō said to Harry.

“Careful there,” Draco protested. “His wizard now knows when you’re talking about him.”

Kibō laughed, and the sound filled the cavern and made Harry's heart light as it always did.

“This is absolutely incredible,” Draco said. “When I arrived here, I was pretty much content to live my life alone and on the road. Then I found myself happy to put down roots with you and Teddy and now… children.”

“Yeah. Even when I was dating women, I never really thought I’d have my own, and now this has been dropped in our laps. But this is definitely something for the future. Right now we haven’t even unpacked any of your stuff at home.”

“Stuff first, siblings later,” Teddy decided. “But I do want them, so don’t think I’ll let you forget. And if you get stubborn about it, I’ll tell Grandma and Aunt Cissa that you are withholding grandchildren and then see how you like what’s coming your way.”

That had them all laughing.

As long as their lives were always filled with this much laughter and love, they could deal with dragonlings, and babies, and demanding grandmothers.

Harry caught Draco’s hand and pulled him into a kiss. His magic had never been this content and whole. Neither had his heart.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. And my heart found home.”

THE END


End file.
